Comet's Orbit: Comets in Motion, Dreams in Orbit

Comets follow highly elliptical orbits, often stretching far beyond the orbit of Pluto. These elongated paths are a consequence of their formation in the distant Oort cloud or Kuiper belt, regions of icy bodies at the fringes of our solar system. As a comet approaches the sun, solar radiation causes its icy composition to sublimate, forming a coma and tail. Gravitational interactions with planets can alter a comet's orbit, sometimes shortening its period or even ejecting it from the solar system entirely. The highly variable nature of their orbits makes predicting their future paths a complex but crucial task for astronomers.