What are objects that orbit the Sun and are primarily composed of frozen gases, often described as dirty snowballs?

What are objects that orbit the Sun and are primarily composed of frozen gases, often described as dirty snowballs?

• A. Asteroids
• B. Planets
• C. Comets
• D. Stars

Answer: (C)

Comets are bodies that orbit the Sun and are mostly made of ice and dust, which is why they’re often described as dirty snowballs. They originate from the outer solar system—regions like the Kuiper belt and the Oort cloud—where icy material is abundant. When a comet travels closer to the Sun, solar heat causes the ices to sublimate into gas, creating a glowing coma around the nucleus and sometimes long tails that stream away from the Sun due to solar wind and radiation pressure. This combination of icy composition and solar-driven activity is what sets comets apart from other solar-system objects. Asteroids are primarily rocky or metallic and come mostly from the inner solar system, so they aren’t icy bodies like comets. Planets are large bodies with varied compositions but are not defined by being chiefly frozen gases. Stars are massive, self-luminous spheres of gas undergoing fusion, not icy bodies.

Comets are bodies that orbit the Sun and are mostly made of ice and dust, which is why they’re often described as dirty snowballs. They originate from the outer solar system—regions like the Kuiper belt and the Oort cloud—where icy material is abundant. When a comet travels closer to the Sun, solar heat causes the ices to sublimate into gas, creating a glowing coma around the nucleus and sometimes long tails that stream away from the Sun due to solar wind and radiation pressure. This combination of icy composition and solar-driven activity is what sets comets apart from other solar-system objects.

Asteroids are primarily rocky or metallic and come mostly from the inner solar system, so they aren’t icy bodies like comets. Planets are large bodies with varied compositions but are not defined by being chiefly frozen gases. Stars are massive, self-luminous spheres of gas undergoing fusion, not icy bodies.