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by Richard Bizley - © Corbis. All Rights Reserved. - © Richard Bizley/Science Photo Library/Corbis
Comet passing a planet
21 Sep 2009 --- Comet passing a planet, artwork. The planet is passing in front of (eclipsing) its parent star. The light is reddish because it has been refracted by the planet's atmosphere. Comets are bodies of ice and dust that enter the inner solar system from the outer solar system. As they approach the Sun, the heat boils the ice, producing a coma around the nucleus, along with a tail stretching out behind it. --- Image by © Richard Bizley/Science Photo Library/Corbis