COMET SIMULATION

A comet tail is not smoke trailing behind. It always points away from the Sun, so on the outbound leg after perihelion the comet chases its own tail. Halley runs retrograde to the planets, one lap every 75.3 years, due back around 2061. A nucleus can shatter along the way, the solar wind can snap off the ion tail, and once the ice runs out the comet goes dormant as a bare rock.

▸ Loading elliptical orbits & comet data (JPL)…
▸ Solving Kepler's equation (M = E − e·sinE)
▸ Building the ice-dust nucleus & coma
▸ Calibrating ion & dust tails to the solar wind
▸ Starting the journey around the Sun…
▸ Ready — Online. ✅
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⌂ Space

Simulation room Comet

Comet
Online
true elliptical orbits · Kepler
Selected comet
☄️ Halley
Distance to Sun—
Orbital velocity—
Outgassing activity—
Coma diameter—
Ion tail—
Dust tail—
Clock & perihelion
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Left-drag = rotate · right-drag = pan · scroll = zoom · click the NUCLEUS = cross-section
WebGL is not enabled in your browser — cannot render the 3D comet.
Outgassing activity & velocity over time activityvelocity
About Comet

A comet tail is not smoke trailing behind. It always points away from the Sun, so on the outbound leg after perihelion the comet chases its own tail. Halley runs retrograde to the planets, one lap every 75.3 years, due back around 2061. A nucleus can shatter along the way, the solar wind can snap off the ion tail, and once the ice runs out the comet goes dormant as a bare rock.

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