• → European Space Agency

      • Space for Europe
      • Space News
      • Space in Images
      • Space in Videos

    • About Us

      • Welcome to ESA
      • DG’s blog
      • For Member State Delegations
      • Business with ESA
      • Law at ESA
      • ESA Exhibitions
      • ESA Publications
      • Careers at ESA
      • ESAshop

    • Our Activities

      • Space News
      • Observing the Earth
      • Human and Robotic Exploration
      • Space Transportation
      • Navigation
      • Space Science
      • Space Engineering & Technology
      • Operations
      • Space Safety
      • Telecommunications & Integrated Applications
      • Preparing for the Future

    • Careers at ESA

    • For Media

      • Newsroom
      • ESA TV
      • Videos for professionals
      • Photos

    • For Educators

    • For Kids

    • ESA

    • ESA Science

    • Rosetta

    • About Rosetta

      • Europe's comet chaser
      • Why 'Rosetta'?
      • History of cometary missions

    • About comets

      • Why comets?
      • How many comets are there?
      • Where life began
      • Debris of the Solar System: Asteroids

    • About the spacecraft

      • The Rosetta orbiter
      • Orbiter: Instruments
      • The Rosetta lander
      • Lander: Instruments

    • About the journey

      • The long trek
      • Life and survival in deep space
      • Long-distance communication
      • The Rosetta ground segment

    • About the arrival

      • Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
      • Comet rendezvous

    • Science highlights

      • The surprising comet
      • Getting to know Rosetta’s comet
      • Science on the surface of a comet
    • Multimedia
    • Where is Rosetta?
    • View Rosetta's comet
    • Rosetta images
    • Rosetta videos
    • Rosetta mission poster
    • Rosetta brochure
    • Exhibition panels
    • Follow us
    • Rosetta on Twitter
    • Rosetta on Flickr
    • Rosetta on YouTube
    • Rosetta on Facebook

    ESA > Our Activities > Space Science > Rosetta

    Life of a comet

    Life of a comet

    This animation shows how most comets originate in an area beyond the orbits of Neptune and Pluto, filled with millions of tiny comet nuclei. Occasionally a comet has a gravitational encounter with a planet and is dragged into orbit around the Sun.

    Download the latest Macromedia Flash® player.

    Last update: 9 November 2007

    Rate this

    Views

    Share
    • Currently 3 out of 5 Stars.
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
    Rating: 3/5 (11 votes cast)

    Thank you for rating!

    You have already rated this page, you can only rate it once!

    Your rating has been changed, thanks for rating!
    6915
    Tweet
    • More about...
      • Rosetta overview
        • Rosetta factsheet
    • App Store
    • Subscribe
    • mobile version

    • FAQ

    • Site Map

    • Contacts

    • Terms and conditions