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Comet Hale–Bopp (formally designated C/1995 O1) is a long-period comet that was one of the most widely observed of the 20th century and one of the brightest seen for many decades. [11] [12] [13] Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp discovered Comet Hale–Bopp separately on July 23, 1995, before it became visible to the naked eye.
Halley's calculations enabled the comet's earlier appearances to be found in the historical record. The following table sets out the astronomical designations for every apparition of Halley's Comet from 240 BC, the earliest documented sighting. [7] [167] In the designations, "1P/" refers to Halley's Comet; the first periodic comet discovered.
On September 26 the comet made its closet approach to Earth at a distance of about 1.15 AU; for a great comet this distance is unusually large — only two other known great comets failed to come closer than 1 AU to Earth — namely, the Great Comet of 1811 and Comet Hale-Bopp.
Minor planets in comet-like orbits similar to HTCs that never come close enough to the Sun to outgas are called centaurs. HTCs are named after the first discovered member, and the first discovered periodic comet, Halley's Comet, which orbits the Sun in about 75 years, and passing as far as the orbit of Neptune.
This is a list of comets (bodies that travel in elliptical, parabolic, and sometimes hyperbolic orbits and display a tail behind them) listed by type. Comets are sorted into four categories: periodic comets (e.g. Halley's Comet), non-periodic comets (e.g. Comet Hale–Bopp), comets with no meaningful orbit (the Great Comet of 1106), and lost comets (), displayed as either P (periodic), C (non ...
For example, Comet Hale–Bopp's designation is C/1995 O1. After their second observed perihelion passage, designations of periodic comets are given an additional prefix number, indicating the order of their discovery. [7] Halley's Comet, the first comet identified as periodic, has the systematic designation 1P/1682 Q1.
When Comet Hale-Bopp arrived in 1997 and when Halley's comet was visible in 1986, he did shows about them. In 1997, specific shows were made when Mars Pathfinder landed on Mars and when the spacecraft Galileo orbited Jupiter , both of which were major headlines in the news.
In comet nomenclature, the letter before the "/" is either "C" (a non-periodic comet), "P" (a periodic comet), "D" (a comet that has been lost or has disintegrated), "X" (a comet for which no reliable orbit could be calculated —usually historical comets), "I" for an interstellar object, or "A" for an object that was either mistakenly ...