Comet Hyakutake General Information on Comets Comets were first beleived to be evil omens which brought upon great catastrophes. Today, comets have been brought into the spotlight as a source of great scientific enquiry. Comets are the best preserved, most primitive material available in out Solar System.
All comets consist of a nucleus, a coma, and a tail.
Comets are not solid bodies, but rather great clouds of gas surrounded by small clusters of particles. They are also gravitationally attracted to the Sun in just the same way that the planets and other celestial bodies are. Comets are comprised of mainly carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, cyanogen, methyne, carbon dioxide, nitrogen hydride and hydroxyl. The head of a comet is the main part, consisting of the nucleus and coma. The coma is the diffuse gaseous component, an extendded atmosphere appearing as a round, diffuse, neblous glow.