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You are here: Home / Space / How Long Do Comets Live For and Do Comets Last Forever When They Leave the Solar System?

How Long Do Comets Live For and Do Comets Last Forever When They Leave the Solar System?

March 14, 2020 by Karen Hill

Whenever a comet makes a pass around the Sun, it loses some of its matter.

The ices melt and the dust streams off in a tail.

Inevitably, the comet will be reduced to a meteor or to celestial confetti, or resemble an asteroid, or a burned-out comet.

Some comets collide with the Sun or a planet.

In July 1994, Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 broke up into pieces and collided with Jupiter.

Others comets break up under the pressure of gravity into two or more comets.

Still others have a parabolic or hyperbolic, or no return, orbit that shoots them out of the solar system, and we don’t really know what happens to them.

Comets are only known to be ejected by interacting with another object in the solar system such as Jupiter.

Related Facts

  • What are the differences between comets, asteroids, and meteors?
  • Why Do Comets Orbit the Sun and How Long Does It Take Comets To Orbit the Sun?
  • How Consistent Are the Orbits Of Comets Around the Sun and How Many Comets Have Had Their Paths Tracked?
  • What Is a Comet?
  • What Are the Physical Characteristics of a Comet and What Happens To Comets As They Approach the Sun?
  • How do astronomers predict solar eclipses and How often does a total eclipse occur?

Filed Under: Space

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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