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A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that warms and begins to release gases when passing close to the Sun, a process called outgassing.This produces an extended, gravitationally unbound atmosphere or coma surrounding the nucleus, and sometimes a tail of gas and dust gas blown out from the coma.
The following list is of comets with very long orbital periods, defined as between 200 and 1000 years.These comets come from the Kuiper belt and scattered disk, beyond the orbit of Pluto, with possible origins in the Oort cloud for many.
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 ...
Periodic comets (also known as short-period comets) are comets with orbital periods of less than 200 years or that have been observed during more than a single perihelion passage [1] (e.g. 153P/Ikeya–Zhang). "Periodic comet" is also sometimes used to mean any comet with a periodic orbit, even if greater than 200 years.
C/ indicates a non-periodic comet i.e. any comet that is not periodic according to the preceding definition. X/ indicates a comet for which no reliable orbit could be calculated (generally, historical comets). D/ indicates a periodic comet that has disappeared, broken up, or been lost. [5]
Comets and asteroids also produce some of the greatest nighttime shows on Earth: annual meteor showers. As comets approach the Sun, pieces of the comet are left behind and, on some occasions, can ...
In 1995, comet 73P/Schwassmann–Wachmann, broke up into several pieces and as of its last perihelion date, the pieces numbered at least 67 with 73P/Schwassmann–Wachmann C as the presumed original nucleus. Because of the enormous number, the pieces of it have been compiled into a separate list.
By definition, a hyperbolic orbit means that the comet will only travel through the Solar System once, with the Sun acting as a gravitational slingshot, sending the comet hurtling out of the Solar System entirely unless its eccentricity is otherwise changed. Comets orbiting in this way still originate from the Solar System, however.