Comet: Quick Facts

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Last updated

Oct. 7, 2026

Photos and Videos

Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 impact on Jupiter

Halley's Comet, 1910

Diagram showing Pluto's elongated orbit in the outer solar system, with its closest and farthest points from the Sun labeled, surrounded by the dense region of small objects known as the Kuiper belt. The circular orbits of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are shown for comparison.

Comet Halley nucleus

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

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Topics

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Solar system: Asteroids and comets

Key People

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Alexis Bouvard

French astronomer

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Fred L. Whipple

American astronomer

Edmond Halley

Edmond Halley

British scientist

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Maria Kirch

German astronomer

Maria Mitchell

Maria Mitchell

American astronomer

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Carolyn Shoemaker

American astronomer

Olbers, detail from an engraving

Wilhelm Olbers

German astronomer

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Peter Naur

Danish astronomer and computer scientist

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Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli

Italian astronomer

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Jean-Baptiste-Gaspard Bochart de Saron

French scientist

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Gene Shoemaker

American astrogeologist

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David H. Levy

Canadian astronomer and science writer

Swings, Pol

Pol Swings

Belgian astronomer

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John Bainbridge

English astronomer

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Pierre Mechain

French scientist

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Giovanni Battista Donati

Italian astronomer

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Wilhelm, Freiherr von Biela

Austrian astronomer

The orbits of the planets and other elements of the solar system, including asteroids, Kuiper belt, Oort cloud, comet

Space Odyssey

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

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

View of the Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31, M31).

Astronomy and Space Quiz

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