A comet nucleus is the solid central body of a comet, containing volatile ices mixed with refractory material. Solar heating can release gas and entrain dust, creating the surrounding cometary coma.
Its shape, rotation, surface properties and heat transport influence where activity occurs. Bright coma emission therefore does not directly measure nucleus size: the same nucleus can have very different apparent brightness at different distances from the Sun. A model of gas and dust production is needed to connect the surrounding signal with the body.

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