Asteroids and comets: similarities and differences

The boundary between comets and asteroids has traditionally been simply the presence of a coma: comets are surrounded by a cloud of dust and gas (the “coma"), and asteroids are not. But we now know that that boundary is too simplistic: close-up images of both asteroids and comets show both commonalities and differences.

The student will compare the images from asteroids and comets to gain a deeper understanding of how objects differ.

The student will learn image processing and the physics of the icy and rocky system.