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comet
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Comet McNaught Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 impact on Jupiter Halley's Comet Encke's Comet
Hear about the band of dust and debris left by comets, which are visible as meteors (shooting stars)
Halley's Comet, 1910 Comet West Pluto and the Kuiper belt Quaoar Comet Halley nucleus
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comet summary
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View of the Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31, M31).
Astronomy and Space Quiz
The orbits of the planets and other elements of the solar system, including asteroids, Kuiper belt, Oort cloud, comet
Space Odyssey
1 July 2002: The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite reveals a massive solar eruption more than 30 times the Earth's diameter. The eruption formed when a loop of a magnetic field over the surface of the Sun trapped hot gas.
Brightest Star in the Solar System
Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. In 1543 he published, forward proof of a Heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Coloured stipple engraving published London 1802. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi.
All About Astronomy

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News •

Latest Comet 3I/ATLAS news: Comet close approach today • Dec. 20, 2025, 3:19 AM ET (Space)

Photos and Videos

Comet McNaught
Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 impact on Jupiter
Halley's Comet
Encke's Comet
Halley's Comet, 1910
Comet West
Pluto and the Kuiper belt
Quaoar
Comet Halley nucleus
Comet Borrelly
Hear about the band of dust and debris left by comets, which are visible as meteors (shooting stars)
Observe an animation of Encke's comet being hit by a coronal mass ejection
See All Videos and Images →

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Key People

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Fred L. Whipple
American astronomer
Edmond Halley
Edmond Halley
British scientist
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Maria Kirch
German astronomer
Maria Mitchell
Maria Mitchell
American astronomer
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Carolyn Shoemaker
American astronomer
Olbers, detail from an engraving
Wilhelm Olbers
German astronomer
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Peter Naur
Danish astronomer and computer scientist
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Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli
Italian astronomer
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Jean-Baptiste-Gaspard Bochart de Saron
French scientist
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Gene Shoemaker
American astrogeologist
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David H. Levy
Canadian astronomer and science writer
Swings, Pol
Pol Swings
Belgian astronomer
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John Bainbridge
English astronomer
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Pierre Mechain
French scientist
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Giovanni Battista Donati
Italian astronomer
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Alexis Bouvard
French astronomer
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Wilhelm, Freiherr von Biela
Austrian astronomer

Related Quizzes

View of the Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31, M31).
Astronomy and Space Quiz
1 July 2002: The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite reveals a massive solar eruption more than 30 times the Earth's diameter. The eruption formed when a loop of a magnetic field over the surface of the Sun trapped hot gas.
Brightest Star in the Solar System
Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. In 1543 he published, forward proof of a Heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Coloured stipple engraving published London 1802. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi.
All About Astronomy
Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. In 1543 he published, forward proof of a Heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Coloured stipple engraving published London 1802. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi.
All About Astronomy
Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. In 1543 he published, forward proof of a Heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Coloured stipple engraving published London 1802. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi.
All About Astronomy
The orbits of the planets and other elements of the solar system, including asteroids, Kuiper belt, Oort cloud, comet
Space Odyssey