Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🛌 Unconscious states ☄️ Comet clouds 🔭 Optical blurs 🌱 Seed hairs
comae

comae

9.9
Clouds of gas and dust around a comet's core
  • noun
  • /ˈkoʊmiː/
  • Specialized
translation icon : coma
  • As the comet approached the sun, its comae expanded dramatically, creating a spectacular display.

Examples

  • Different comae can vary in size and composition depending on the comet.

  • Scientists study the comae of various comets to understand their composition.

  • Astronomers observed several comae in the images of distant comets.

  • The brightness of the comae made it difficult to see the comet nuclei clearly.

  • The comet's comae shimmered brightly as it approached the sun.

  • The comet's comae are visible through a telescope, surrounding the bright nucleus.

  • During the night, astronomers observed the intricate details of the comae of various comets.

Surface Forms

coma singular
comae plural

Morphology

comae = coma (semi-transparent) = coma + ae

The plural relation to 'coma' is apparent but relies on the Latin plural '-ae', which is irregular in English.

Etymology

The word comae is the plural of coma and comes from the Latin word coma, which means 'hair'. Early sky watchers used it for the fuzzy cloud around a comet because it looked like hair, so comae are the comet's fuzzy 'hair'.