Comets close to the Earth have been observed by man since ancient times. Several ancient civilizations have left writings about them or have depicted them in some form. Comets were often viewed as signs of bad luck. In fact, a comet is just a small icy object in some orbit in the solar system. When it comes close to the Sun, it displays what looks like an atmosphere and a tail, effects of solar radiation and solar wind. They are different from meteorites, which do not follow an orbit around the sun. Meteorites consist of inter-planetary dust and are called meteorites as soon as they enter Earth's atmoshpere, burning up at high speed. The Comet Elenin is a rather large comet, although larger comets have also been spotted.
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