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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 ...
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 ...
Moon Mimas and Ida, an asteroid with its own moon, Dactyl; Comet Lovejoy and Jupiter, a giant gas planet; The Sun; Sirius A with Sirius B, a white dwarf; the Crab Nebula, a remnant supernova; A black hole (artist concept); Vela Pulsar, a rotating neutron star; M80, a globular cluster, and the Pleiades, an open star cluster
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. [2]
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.
Periodic comets also have a number indicating the order of their discovery. Thus Bennett's Comet has the systematic designation C/1969 Y1. Halley's Comet, the first comet to be identified as periodic, has the systematic name 1P/1682 Q1. Comet Hale–Bopp's systematic name is C/1995 O1.
There are 293 confirmed moons in our cosmic neighborhood. By studying these worlds, astronomers hope to learn about ancient asteroid collisions, space volcanoes, and the origins of life itself.
Planetary science is the study of the assemblage of planets, moons, dwarf planets, comets, asteroids, and other bodies orbiting the Sun, as well as extrasolar planets. The Solar System has been relatively well-studied, initially through telescopes and then later by spacecraft. This has provided a good overall understanding of the formation and ...