Good ideas and conversation. No ads, no tracking. Login or Take a Tour!
Wintermute · 2914 days ago · link · · parent · post: Astronomers find a tailless comet, first of its kind
I've never thought about it before, but I apparently have no idea at all what constitutes a "comet". I found this page from the IAU, but based on the information on it, I can't find any meaningful distinction between comets and asteroids. Is there a (semi-)official technical distinction between asteroids and comets based on orbital characteristics or something?