Comets

Back in the days of the Ancients, people looked to the sky for signs and guidance. The Greeks literally named this astral symbol "long-haired", based on the trail it etched across the evening light. This beautiful light; however, was not a welcome sign, as they believed it signified bad things to come. I am talking about the celestial beings know as comets.

Let's go back to the etymology (origins of the word's name) of comets. The names meaning "long-haired" is quite significant to the identification of a comet. The only discernible difference between comets and asteroids is the fact that comets have comas and tails. Now, what do I mean by this? Please note this picture below.

The super bright core is the comet itself, but the light aura surrounding the core is the "coma" and the trail following them is the "tail". These things form around the comet as its orbit brings it close to the sun. The solar wind and solar radiation cause these lights to appear as they take their toll on the comet.

Comets are usually giant orbs or ice, but can be dust or rock as well, sometimes mixtures of the three. There are over 4,000 known comets that can be seen from earth, and more are entering visible sight. There is about one that can be seen annually. Comets are usually more visually striking than their relatives the meteor and asteroid, but they are harder to find. They are worth the effort. I know I will not forget the first time I saw a comet. It really did look something like this: