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The word comet derives from the Old English cometa from the Latin comēta or comētēs. That, in turn, is a romanization of the Greek κομήτης 'wearing long hair', and the Oxford English Dictionary notes that the term (ἀστὴρ) κομήτης already meant 'long-haired star, comet' in Greek.
CG 4, commonly referred to as God's Hand, [3] is a star-forming region located in the Puppis constellation, about 1,300 light-years (400 pc) from Earth. [4] It is one of several objects referred to as "cometary globules", because its shape is similar to that of a comet. [1]
This unique spiral galaxy, which is situated 3.2 billion light-years from the Earth, has an extended stream of bright blue knots and diffuse wisps of young stars. [2] It rushes at 3.6 million km/h (1000km/s [2]) through the cluster Abell 2667 and therefore, like a comet, shows a tail, with a length of 600,000 light-years.
Scientists say comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is visible once every 80,000 years, and people across North America were treated to stunning views. Striking photos show stunning, once-in-a ...
Soon after the first orbital elements could be calculated, it was suggested that the comet would become "a bright object, that could be observed with unaided eye."It was found to combine three favorable characteristics that made it an exceptional comet for observation: a short perihelion distance, a short distance from Earth, and high intrinsic brightness. [9]
Halley's Comet is the only known short-period comet that is consistently visible to the naked eye from Earth, [16] appearing every 72–80 years, [17] though with the majority of recorded apparations (25 of 30) occurring after 75–77 years.
Periodic comets usually have elongated elliptical orbits, and usually return to the vicinity of the Sun after a number of decades. The official names of non-periodic comets begin with a "C"; the names of periodic comets begin with "P" or a number followed by "P". Comets that have been lost or disappeared have names with a "D". Comets whose ...
For observers in the Northern Hemisphere, the comet could be seen on the northwestern horizon, below the Big Dipper. North of 45 degrees north, the comet was visible all night in mid-July 2020. On July 30, Comet NEOWISE entered the constellation of Coma Berenices, below the bright star Arcturus. NEOWISE was retroactively dubbed the Great Comet ...