|
I FIRST saw the Comet McNaught whilst kayaking in New Zealand on my final evening there. Upon my return to Australia I rediscovered it in the western sky just above a bank of distant storm cloud.
Comets are icy worlds that belong in the farthest outer reaches of the solar system in the Oort cloud. Passing stars or other phenomena dislodge some of these comets causing them to come into the inner solar system. When they approach the sun they give off long tails of water vapour, illuminating the night sky.
|
