Comets Unveiled

Abstract

Comets might have been known for millennia but it is only in the last few decades that we have really got to know some of their most intimate physical and chemical secrets. We had to wait until the mid-1980s before man-made machinery approached comets at close range, sniffing and sensing, and sending back surveillance. Now, at long last, we have a good picture of what a comet is and how comets behave. Even so, there are still secrets to be uncovered and truths to be clarified, especially about how they fit into the grand scheme of things. That is what makes the observation and study of comets so worthwhile.