Near-Earth Objects
Comets
Comets are large balls of rock, ice, dust and gases. They contain frozen leftovers from the early Solar System. Material that is about 4,600 million years old!
Maria Mitchell
Occupation
Astronomer, Educator, Librarian
Year born
1818
Research Areas
Comets, Solar Eclipse, Planets, Double Stars, Nebulae
Caroline Herschel
Occupation
Astronomer
Year born
1750
Research Areas
Comets, Nebulae, Star Clusters
Edmond Halley
Occupation
Astronomer, Mathematician
Year born
1656
Research Areas
Comets, Transits, Stars, Maths, Geophysics
Make a Comet on a Stick
Comets are large balls of ice, rock and dust but you can think of them as large dirty snowballs that travel through the Solar System.
Gerard Kuiper
Early Life
Gerard was born in the Netherlands and loved stargazing from an early age. He had extraordinary eyesight that let him see stars four times fainter than most people could see. He studied astronomy at Leiden University and then moved to California, USA to work at the Lick Observatory.
Year born: 1905
Research Areas: Atmospheres and Moons