One of the names of comets that you may often hear is Halley's comet. But actually there are so many names of comets that have been seen throughout history and have their own characteristics.
Comets are celestial bodies that are often interpreted as shooting stars. But actually comets are not stars, they are celestial bodies that revolve around the sun and have their own orbits like planets.
The unique thing about this celestial body is that when a comet approaches the sun, it will form an atmosphere around it. When the comet is traveling very fast, this atmosphere can even form a tail so that the comet looks very beautiful.
Non-Periodic Comets
Of the many names of comets, there are several types of comets that are only discovered once, presumably because they have very long orbits and take a long time to pass one revolution. These comets are called non-periodic comets.
The following are some names of non-periodic comets that you should know.
1. Comet Arend-Roland
Discovered on November 8, 1956. The name of this comet itself comes from the name of its discoverers, namely Sylvain Arend and Georges Roland.
2. Comet Brooks
This comet was first seen in July 1911. Its discoverer was the astronomer William Robert Brooks, whose last name later became the name of this comet.
3. Comet Ikeya-Seki
The name of this comet is also derived from the names of its discoverers, namely Kaoru Ikeya and Tsutomu Seki. Found on September 8, 1965 in Japan. This comet has a tail that is quite long and can be very bright when it is close to the sun.
4. Comet Lulin
This comet is known to pass the earth on July 11, 2007, its discoverer is an astronomer from the Lulin Observatory located in Nantou, Taiwan. The inventors were named Lin Chi-Sheng and Ye Quanzhi.
5. Comet Kohoutek
Discovered by astronomer Lubos Kohoutek in the Czech Republic on March 7, 1973. According to astronomers, this comet has a very long orbit and only crosses the earth once every hundreds of thousands of years.
Periodic Comets
Unlike non-periodic comets, this one comet can be seen several times across the earth. The following are some of the names of periodic comets that can be seen every few years.
1. Halley's Comet
The name of this comet is probably the most popular of all comet names, because it is the only short-period comet that can be seen with the naked eye from Earth.
This comet crosses the earth about once every 76 years, has a very beautiful long tail and has crossed the earth in 1986.
2. Comet Hartley
Discovered by Malcolm Hartley in 1986 and is expected to pass through the earth about once every 6 years. This comet last passed the earth around October-November in 2010.
3. Kopff's Comet
The name of this comet comes from the name of its discoverer, August Kopff, discovered on August 23, 1906. This comet is estimated to pass through the earth about once every 6 years. Last seen on May 25, 2009 and is expected to appear again in 2015.
4. Comet Encke
The name of this comet is one of the comets with the shortest orbit. This comet will pass the earth every three years and must be seen through binoculars or telescopes. This comet was first discovered in 1786 by Pierre Mechain.