Comets are small astral bodies that can be seen when their orbit brings them close to the sun. They are usually made up of leftovers from the sun and can be affected by the gravitational forces of planets. Comets are classified by the time it takes them to orbit the sun, with short-period comets taking up to 200 years and long-period comets taking much longer. People often mistake comets for shooting stars, and catching a comet can cause significant damage to a planet. Halley’s Comet is a famous example of a short-period comet that can be seen every 75 years.
A comet is a small astral body, similar in construction to a planet. Its orbit can sometimes bring it close to the sun and make it visible to the unaided eye, or through relatively low-power telescopes, from Earth. When one can be seen, it is usually noted as having a tail, made of gas, which early astronomers often mistook for a shooting star.
Most observable comets in our solar system arise from the Oort cloud, a hypothesized cloud made up of leftovers from the sun. These materials form comets, which orbit the sun because they are influenced by its gravitational pull. Passing through the individual planets, the comet can be affected by the gravitational forces of the planets, thus causing an elliptical or oval orbit.
Usually, people on Earth see these astral bodies when they pass between the Earth and the sun. The comet and its tail, sometimes called the coma and tail, are thought to reflect sunlight, improving its visibility. Because comets can orbit the sun in strange patterns, people can only see one pass in a lifetime.
In fact, comets are usually classified by the time it takes them to orbit the sun. A short period takes up to about 200 years to make a complete revolution around the sun. A long-period comet can take much longer to complete a trip.
For example, Halley’s Comet can be seen on earth about every 75 years, making it part of the short-period class. It was last sighted on Earth in 1986 and is expected to be seen again in 2061.
A planet can catch a comet, which can cause significant damage to the astral body. Such a gravitational capture can cause it to break into many small pieces, which can then impact the capturing planet. Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 was observed broken in 1993, and astronomers were able to witness it impacting Jupiter’s atmosphere in 1994.
Quite often, people looking at the night sky may think they are seeing “shooting stars” that are actually meteors or comets. There are thousands of little ones that don’t attract much interest. Once-in-a-lifetime comets like Halley’s are often considered exciting, as most people will only see them with the naked eye once.
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