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comet
Table of Contents
References & Edit History Related Topics
Images & Videos
Comet McNaught Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 impact on Jupiter Halley's Comet Encke's Comet
Hear about the band of dust and debris left by comets, which are visible as meteors (shooting stars)
Halley's Comet, 1910 Comet West Pluto and the Kuiper belt Quaoar Comet Halley nucleus
For Students
comet summary
Quizzes
View of the Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31, M31).
Astronomy and Space Quiz
The orbits of the planets and other elements of the solar system, including asteroids, Kuiper belt, Oort cloud, comet
Space Odyssey
1 July 2002: The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite reveals a massive solar eruption more than 30 times the Earth's diameter. The eruption formed when a loop of a magnetic field over the surface of the Sun trapped hot gas.
Brightest Star in the Solar System
Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. In 1543 he published, forward proof of a Heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Coloured stipple engraving published London 1802. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi.
All About Astronomy
Discover
Cathedrale St.Jean in Lyon, France has a 14th-century astronomical clock that shows religious feast days till the year 2019; Perpetual Calendar
Ten Days That Vanished: The Switch to the Gregorian Calendar
Close up of books. Stack of books, pile of books, literature, reading. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society
12 Novels Considered the “Greatest Book Ever Written”
Berries and leaves of the bittersweet nightshade (Solanum dulcamara) plant. Poisonous plant
7 of the World’s Deadliest Plants
Happy, smiling, flying pig
7 Everyday English Idioms and Where They Come From
Gutzon Borglum. Presidents. Sculpture. National park. George Washington. Thomas Jefferson. Theodore Roosevelt. Abraham Lincoln. Mount Rushmore National Memorial, South Dakota.
9 Memorials and Monuments in the United States
Dancers at a Cinco de Mayo festival at the Mission District, San Francisco, California. (Photo dated 2019.) holidays
Is Cinco de Mayo Mexico's Independence Day?
Drinking water is poured into a glass.
Water Fluoridation: Just the Facts

comet: Related Content

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News •

Astronomers Discover Disintegrating Exoplanet with Prominent Comet-Like Tails • Apr. 23, 2025, 3:11 AM ET (Sci.News)
A green comet is fading fast after its trip around the sun • Apr. 21, 2025, 1:30 PM ET (PBS)

Photos and Videos

Comet McNaught
Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 impact on Jupiter
Halley's Comet
Encke's Comet
Halley's Comet, 1910
Comet West
Pluto and the Kuiper belt
Quaoar
Comet Halley nucleus
Comet Borrelly
Hear about the band of dust and debris left by comets, which are visible as meteors (shooting stars)
Observe an animation of Encke's comet being hit by a coronal mass ejection
See All Videos and Images →

Related Topics and References

Topics
Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

Key People

Fred L. Whipple
American astronomer
Edmond Halley
Edmond Halley
British scientist
Maria Kirch
German astronomer
Maria Mitchell
Maria Mitchell
American astronomer
Carolyn Shoemaker
American astronomer
Olbers, detail from an engraving
Wilhelm Olbers
German astronomer
Peter Naur
Danish astronomer and computer scientist
Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli
Italian astronomer
Jean-Baptiste-Gaspard Bochart de Saron
French scientist
Gene Shoemaker
American astrogeologist
David H. Levy
Canadian astronomer and science writer
Swings, Pol
Pol Swings
Belgian astronomer
John Bainbridge
English astronomer
Pierre Mechain
French scientist
Giovanni Battista Donati
Italian astronomer
Alexis Bouvard
French astronomer
Wilhelm, Freiherr von Biela
Austrian astronomer

Related Quizzes and Features

Quiz
The orbits of the planets and other elements of the solar system, including asteroids, Kuiper belt, Oort cloud, comet
Space Odyssey
1 July 2002: The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite reveals a massive solar eruption more than 30 times the Earth's diameter. The eruption formed when a loop of a magnetic field over the surface of the Sun trapped hot gas.
Brightest Star in the Solar System
Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. In 1543 he published, forward proof of a Heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Coloured stipple engraving published London 1802. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi.
All About Astronomy
Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. In 1543 he published, forward proof of a Heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Coloured stipple engraving published London 1802. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi.
All About Astronomy
Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. In 1543 he published, forward proof of a Heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Coloured stipple engraving published London 1802. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi.
All About Astronomy
View of the Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31, M31).
Astronomy and Space Quiz