Wtf Fun Fact About Comets - What Are Comets Made Of?

Are comets made of ice?

They are composed of rock, dust, ice and frozen gases such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane, and ammonia. Comets also contain a variety of organic compounds such as methane, nitrous oxide and ethylene oxide.

The ice of comets is not made of frozen water. Rather, it is composed of rock, dust, ice and frozen gases such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane and ammonia. The gas content of comet nuclei may be much higher than that of the most primitive asteroids. A recent study has shown that the ice of comet nuclei is covered by a crust. Comets also contain a variety of organic compounds as well as the gases already mentioned.

All these materials have been incorporated into the nucleus during its formation or accretion history. The presence of organic compounds indicates that some comets have been subject to chemical ablation events in their pasts; even though comets are relatively young objects (about 4 billion years old), they may have experienced significant ablation episodes during their lifetimes.

The composition of cometary volatiles has been determined from spectroscopic observations of infrared absorption lines from these substances in the coma and tail intensity regions. These measurements indicate that volatile compounds like carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2) are present but are not abundant in comets; rather they are found only in small amounts in primitive Hildesheimer– type bodies such as asteroids and meteorites whose chemistry reflects the earliest history of solar system.