On Background - Comets, the basics

About this episode

This episode explores the basics of comets, including their origin and anatomy.

In this special episode, funded by the National Science Foundation, we're taking a break from the headlines to share the background story of comets. Today, we'll focus on the origin of comets and their basic anatomy, and in future episodes, we'll dive deep into how comets are discovered, what we can learn from them, and how they can literally and figuratively impact our world.

People in this episode

Hosts: Dr. Pamela Gay, Erik Madaus, Ally Pelphrey

Topics covered

• comets
• origin of comets
• anatomy of comets
• discovery of comets
• impact of comets

Keywords

• comets
• space
• astronomy
• science
• National Science Foundation

More episodes of EVSN: Escape Velocity Space News

• After Hours: Launching the small(er) things with Exolaunch CEO Robert Sproles · April 30, 2026 · 49 min
• To Artemis, With Love · April 23, 2026 · 28 min
• Supervolcanoes: Erupt, Refill, Repeat · April 16, 2026 · 14 min
• Science in Pairs & Moon Plans Redux · April 2, 2026 · 26 min
• Pretty Pictures & Ugly Artemis News · March 19, 2026 · 34 min
• Glaciers: Going, Going…Gone · February 26, 2026 · 27 min