sam was gazing through a telescope and noticed a bright spot moving fast through the sky. on closer examination he observed the spot was followed by a stream of dust as it neared the sun. what did sam most likely observe?
Sam most likely observed a comet. Comets are celestial objects made up of ice, rock, and dust that typically have highly elliptical orbits around the sun. As a comet moves closer to the sun, the heat causes the ice to vaporize, creating a glowing coma (bright spot) around the nucleus of the comet. The vaporized ice and ejected dust create a visible tail or stream of dust, which can be seen from Earth.
Based on the information provided, Sam most likely observed a comet.
Comets are celestial bodies made up of ice, rock, dust, and other organic compounds. They orbit the sun and as they get closer to the sun, the heat causes the ice to vaporize, creating a bright coma (the bright spot) around the comet. This vaporization also causes the release of dust and gas, forming a tail (the stream of dust) that trails behind the comet as it moves through space.
Based on the description provided, Sam most likely observed a comet. Comets are celestial objects composed of a nucleus made up of ice, dust, and rock, which emits gas and dust in the form of a glowing coma and tail when it approaches the Sun.
To arrive at this conclusion, Sam first noticed a bright spot moving fast through the sky. This indicates that the object is moving relative to the fixed stars, likely demonstrating a comet's typical motion. Additionally, the fact that a stream of dust followed the bright spot as it neared the Sun further aligns with the behavior of comets, as they release gas and dust particles due to solar heating.
In summary, by observing a fast-moving bright spot followed by a stream of dust near the Sun, Sam most likely witnessed a comet.