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11.5
Comets
 
  Probably no other objects in the solar system have historically had so much interest as the reoccurring arrival of comets. For centuries there have been wild speculations as to what comets are made of and the reason for their arrival. In human history, comets are the principal astronomical phenomena on which many of the ancient images of "Gods" were based. Interestingly (and importantly) comets have historically been considered purveyors of doom. The great "Garuda" bird was said to spit fire from its breath. We now know that a comets tail can be easily described at certain periods of its journey around the Sun as resembling the foot of a fowl.  
11.5.1 The structure of comets  
  Comets are essentially made up of water molecules, oxygen, carbon and hydrogen. During their closest path around the Sun, it is the burning of Hydrogen and Oxygen plus the effect in the Sun's particle fields ( the closer the comet is to the Sun) that gives a Comet its tail or fire.  
  The core of a comet, is usually no more than a few kilometres wide. However, a comets tail, made mostly of hydrogen can be some tens of millions of kilometres long. Comets remain largely invisible until they come on their closest path to the Sun. The closer to the Sun, the brighter their tail, and vice versa.  
11.5.2 Why do comets do what they do?  
  There are two ways to answer the question of why comets do what they do:  
  (a) Understanding comets as having a specific purpose to a living organism called the Solar System;  
  (b) Understanding the laws that cause this to happen.  
  As a living organism  
  The Sun needs extra supplies of Hydrogen to avoid dipping into its own reserves and therefore lessening its life as a Hydrogen fusion entity. While its particle fields clean up loose hydrogen from the edges of the Solar System boundaries within the Oort cloud, it is a much more difficult proposition in getting Hydrogen from outside the solar systems protective barrier and back to the Sun safely.  
  The simple reason is that that the particle fields of "other" Suns are also hunting for elusive hydrogen. What is required are regular orbiting objects capable of breaking through the Oort cloud and returning ladened with hydrogen and trailing hydrogen. This is exactly what Comets do.  
  We know that comets attract large quantities of Hydrogen because of their effect on the Sun. We visibly see changes in the output of the Sun after the arrival of a large sized comet. Let's put this another way. We see an object 1.4 million km across change its output after the arrival of something maybe a few kilometres across! What we have failed to observe is the funnel of hydrogen that pours into the Sun's atmosphere, having been dragged at high speed behind the comet- billions of tonnes of it!  
  The scientific explanation  
  Comets are attracted to returning towards the Sun because of the attraction of their basic Hydrogen and Oxygen composition to the largest Hydrogen structure in the local region, the Sun. They are aided by their pull in and push out by the tremendous magnetic and sub-atomic particle fields of the Sun.  
  At their furthest proximity from the Sun, the magnetic particle fields of the Sun are at their weakest. However, as the Comet "picks up" more and more Hydrogen from the outer lying regions of the Oort clouds, the gravitational effect of the Sun begins to take hold. Comets become heavier. Thus, they slowly but surely begin to be attracted back towards the Sun, fully ladened.  
11.5.3 Heavy ladened water comets are attracted to Earth  
  Just as comets provide extra hydrogen to the Sun, heavy ladened water comets are attracted to the Earth as they head back towards the Sun. This is especially so for the more regular comets that take shorter orbits to the edge of the Oort cloud such as the Comet Encke. Comets such as Encke that periodically has a close orbit to Earth ( depending on the position of the Earth at the time) comes close enough to the Earth for parts to "break off" and enter our atmosphere.  
  Certainly this is supported by the wealth of historical information documented in ancient cultures about the general doom associated with comets.  
     
     
     
     
     
     
 
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