What is the term for the vast, hazy atmosphere that forms around the comet nucleus due to warming?
Answer
The Coma
When a comet moves close enough to the Sun, the rise in temperature causes the frozen materials on the surface of the nucleus to undergo sublimation, transforming directly from solid to gas. This outgassing releases trapped dust and gas, which accumulates to form a massive, although extremely tenuous, enveloping atmosphere around the central body. This resulting cloud is formally designated as the coma, and it can sometimes grow larger than a planet.
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