Interactive Comet Animation

Apie

The interactive animation (below) shows some things about how comets work. Click the "play forward" button to make the comet move around in its orbit. You can make your own "custom comet" by adjusting the orbit size and the eccentricity (how "oval-shaped" the orbit is) of the comet's orbit. Click the "Closeup" tab to get a zoomed-in view of the comet. Click the "Pick Comet" tab if you want to look at some actual comets. Can you make a comet with a really long tail? How long do comets take to orbit the Sun? If you want to find out more about comets, there is more information further down on this page.