After the familiar celestial bodies like Stars, Planets, and Sun, Comets are probably the most famous out of all the other astronomical objects. Ask a 10-year-old and it is most likely that they know what a comet is, even if they have never seen one. However, there is one thing that not many know – What actually is a Comet? A comet is a small-icy celestial body that heats and releases gases as soon as it passes the Sun. Unlike other objects in the solar system, comets are not found in millions. There are roughly 6500 comets known to astronomers. Here are 10 of the most famous comets in the history of mankind.
WILD 2
The first famous comet in this list is Wild 2, also known as 81P/Wild. The comet is said to be 4.5 billion years old and was discovered by Paul Wild, a Swiss astronomer in 1978. NASA launched a spacecraft called Stardust to study the comet in more depth. The spacecraft returned with samples of the comet among other space samples, which is what made this comet famous as this was the first time a sample like this was brought back to Earth.
COMET MCNAUGHT
First seen by Robert H. McNaught in August 2006, Comet McNaught is the 31st comet named after McNaught. It went past the Sun on the 12th of January, 2007, 15.9 million miles or 25.6 million kilometer away from its surface, making it one of the biggest comets that were measured to date.
GREAT SEPTEMBER COMET OF 1882
Considered by some comet historians as a ‘Super Comet’, the Great September Comet of 1882 was perhaps one of the brightest comets ever seen. It is a huge member of the Kreutz Sungrazing Group. It was first spotted by a group of Italian sailors on September 1 in the Southern Hemisphere. It only brightened as it came near the Sun. It was visible during the day by September 14 and passed the Sun only at a distance of 425000 kilometer.
HARTLEY
Hartley, Hartley 2, or 103P/Hartley (official name), you can call the smallest comet that ever visited by any of these names. Discovered in Australia in 1986 by Malcom Hartley, the comet is 2.25 kilometer long. According to NASA, it is also shaped like a peanut. They know this because a spacecraft – The Deep Impact was launched to study the comet. The spacecraft was roughly 435 miles away from the comet, about 1.2 to 1.6 kilometers in diameter.
COMET ENCKE
Comet Encke is quite an old comet, only the second periodic comet discovered by German astronomer Johann Franz Encke, on 17 of January 1786 with an orbital period of 1204 days. This comet is also the parent celestial body of the Taurid meteor shower, which occurs annually in October and November. Because of its old age, the comet leaves off little gas on its path.
COMET SWIFT-TUTTLE
Comet Swift-Tuttle 1992 was discovered by Lewis Swift and Horace Tuttle, two American astronomers in July of 1862. Last seen in 1997, this comet has an orbital period of 133 years. It is predicted to be sited again in 2126. It made this list because of a controversy. Astronomers first speculated that it is in danger of colliding with Earth as its orbit intercepts with the comet’s orbit. However, advanced research shows that the Earth is not in any danger for another 2000 years. Furthermore, the comet will pass approximately 15 million miles from Earth when it next makes the trip.
COMET HALE-BOPP
On July 23, 1995, Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp from New Mexico and Arizona respectively saw an unusually bright and large comet outside Jupiter’s orbit. After analyzing it carefully using a Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers gave the credit for its brightness to its large size (24 times larger than most). The reason it is featured in the lists of one of the most famous comets in the solar system is because it is one of the most viewed comets. It was apparently visible for a period of 19 months. It is also said that approximately 90% of Americans have seen it. Comet Hale-Bopp is also a periodic comet with an orbital time period of 2500 years.
COMET HYAKUTAKE
Yuji Hyakutake, an amateur astronomer from Japan is the one who first discovered comet Hyakutake using a pair of binoculars on the 30th of January, 1996. It is also known as the Great Comet of 1996. Despite being a small comet, it was quite a bright comet with one of the longest and most beautiful tails ever observed. Astronomers believe that this was not the comets first visit Earth’s orbit and was last here roughly 8000 years ago. While first, they predicted it will not revisit Earth for another 14000 years, the latest calculations show that this time period will extend more than 100000 years.
COMET SHOEMAKER-LEVY 9
The next comet is one that garnered the attention of the media worldwide. First discovered in 1993 by astronomers David Levy and Eugene and Carolyn Shoemaker, comet shoemaker-levy 9 was a fantastic comet that was destroyed in a collision with Jupiter in 1994. This event was the first-ever event recorded where two celestial bodies in the solar system collided with each other. There are even movies made on this comet in the 90’s – ‘Deep Impact’ and ‘Armageddon’. Jupiter still has the battle scars from all the fragments that impacted its surface. This impact created atmospherical plumes, which were thousands of kilometers high with a hot bubble of gas and dark scars covering Jupiter’s sky.
COMET HALLEY
The last name on this list belongs to ‘the’ most famous comet to ever be spotted from Earth – Comet Halley. It is a name that most of us are familiar with. Comet Halley is a periodic comet that returns to Earth’s periphery every 75 years. If a person is lucky, they can easily see it twice in their life. The last time comet Halley was spotted, it was in 1986. So, its next appearance is set for 2061, which is only 40 years away now! Comet Halley is actually named after an English astronomer Edmund Halley, who reported its occurrence 3 times and predicted it will return in 1758. While Halley was not alive to see his prediction come true, the comet was named after him to honor his contribution. If you ever read its history in detail, you will further understand why it is titled as the most famous comet till date.
