What are lumps of ice, dust, and rock orbiting the Sun called?

Lumps of ice, dust, and rock orbiting the Sun are called comets. Comets originate from the outer regions of the solar system, often from areas like the Kuiper Belt or the Oort Cloud. When they approach the Sun, the heat causes the ice within them to vaporize, creating a glowing coma and sometimes a tail that points away from the Sun. This phenomenon differentiates comets from other celestial bodies like asteroids, which are primarily composed of rock and metal, and do not typically contain significant amounts of ice or dust.

In contrast, planets are large celestial bodies that orbit the Sun and have cleared their orbital paths of other debris, while stars are massive celestial objects that generate energy through nuclear fusion at their cores. Asteroids, while also orbiting the Sun, are primarily composed of rock and metal, lacking the icy composition that characterizes comets.