cometssmall

Cometssmall is a term occasionally used in astronomical literature and data catalogs to describe comets with relatively small nuclei and low to moderate levels of activity. It is not a formal taxonomic category, and there is no universal size cutoff; different studies may apply varying criteria, often noting nuclei of about a kilometer or less as characteristic examples.

Small comets typically have nuclei ranging from tens of meters to a few kilometers across. They tend to produce faint comas and weak tails, and their activity can be episodic or short-lived, especially near perihelion. Because of their diminutive size and low brightness, cometssmall objects are more susceptible to fragmentation and rapid evolution compared with larger comets.

Detection and observation of cometssmall objects pose particular challenges. Their faintness makes them easy to overlook in wide-field surveys, and they are often discovered only after careful data processing or during close solar approaches. Modern deep, wide-field surveys such as Pan-STARRS and ATLAS have increased the detection of small comets, frequently classifying them first as asteroids before confirming subtle cometary activity.

Origins of small comets may include the fragmentation of larger comets, primordial remnants from the early Solar System, or fragments produced by past disruption events. Studying cometssmall helps constrain models of volatile inventories, cometary evolution, and the contribution of small bodies to the interplanetary dust population.

In practice, "cometssmall" serves as a descriptive label highlighting size-related questions rather than dynamical classification. Researchers may use related terms like mini-comets or micro-comets depending on context.