Great comet

Exceptionally bright comets

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Comet McNaught as the Great Comet of 2007

A great comet is a comet that becomes exceptionally bright. There is no official definition; often the term is attached to comets such as Halley's Comet, which during certain appearances are bright enough to be noticed by casual observers who are not looking for them, and become well known outside the astronomical community. Typically, they are as bright or brighter than a second magnitude star and have tails that are 10 degrees or longer under dark skies.[1] Great comets appear at irregular, unpredictable intervals, on average about once per decade. Although comets are officially named after their discoverers, great comets are sometimes also referred to by the year in which they appeared great, using the formulation "The Great Comet of ...", followed by the year. It can also be used as a generic name when a very bright comet is discovered by many observers simultaneously.[2]

## Causes

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The Great Comet of 1680 over Rotterdam as painted by Lieve Verschuier

The vast majority of comets are never bright enough to be seen by the naked eye, and generally pass through the inner Solar System unseen by anyone except astronomers. However, occasionally a comet may brighten to naked eye visibility, and even more rarely it may become as bright as or brighter than the brightest stars. The requirements for this to occur are: a large and active nucleus, a close approach to the Sun, and a close approach to the Earth. A comet fulfilling all three of these criteria will certainly be very bright. Sometimes, a comet failing on one criterion will still be bright. For example, Comet Hale–Bopp did not approach the Sun very closely, but had an exceptionally large and active nucleus. It was visible to the naked eye for several months and was very widely observed. Similarly, Comet Hyakutake was a relatively small comet, but appeared bright because it passed very close to the Earth.

### Size and activity of the nucleus

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Cometary nuclei vary in size from a few hundreds of metres across or less to many kilometres across. When they approach the Sun, large amounts of gas and dust are ejected by cometary nuclei, due to solar heating. A crucial factor in how bright a comet becomes is how large and how active its nucleus is. After many returns to the inner Solar System, cometary nuclei become depleted in volatile materials and thus are much less bright than comets which are making their first passage through the Solar System.

Comet Hale-Bopp

The sudden brightening of Comet Holmes in 2007 showed the importance of the activity of the nucleus in the comet's brightness. On October 23–24, 2007, the comet underwent a sudden outburst which caused it to brighten by factor of about half a million. It unexpectedly brightened from an apparent magnitude of about 17 to about 2.8 in a period of only 42 hours, making it visible to the naked eye. All these temporarily made comet 17P the largest (by radius) object in the Solar System although its nucleus is estimated to be only about 3.4 km in diameter.

### Close perihelion approach

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The brightness of a simple reflective body varies with the inverse square of its distance from the Sun. That is, if an object's distance from the Sun is halved, its brightness is quadrupled. However, comets behave differently, due to their ejection of large amounts of volatile gas which then also reflect sunlight and may also fluoresce. Their brightness varies roughly as the inverse cube of their distance from the Sun, meaning that if a comet's distance from the Sun is halved, it will become eight times as bright.

This means that the peak brightness of a comet depends significantly on its distance from the Sun. For most comets, the perihelion of their orbit lies outside the Earth's orbit. Any comet approaching the Sun to within 0.5 AU (75 million km) or less may have a chance of becoming a great comet.

### Close approach to the Earth

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For a comet to become very bright, it also needs to pass close to the Earth. Halley's Comet, for example, is usually very bright when it passes through the inner Solar System every seventy-six years, but during its 1986 apparition, its closest approach to Earth was almost the most distant possible. The comet became visible to the naked eye, but was unspectacular. On the other hand, the intrinsically small and faint Comet Hyakutake (C/1996 B2) appeared very bright and spectacular due to its very close approach to Earth at its nearest during March 1996. Its passage near the Earth was one of the closest cometary approaches on record with a distance of 0.1 AU (15 million km; 39 LD).

## List of great comets

[edit]

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (December 2013)

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Great comets of the past two millennia include the following below. This list includes multiple bright apparitions of Halley's Comet since 86 BC:

Comet

Designation  | Name  | Image  |  Dimensions
(km)(a) | Total
magnitude (M1)(b) | Maximum
brightness  | Perihelion
date  | Remarks
X/-371  | Great Comet of 371 BC |  | \-  | \-  | \-  | 371 BC  | A winter comet reported by Aristotle and Ephorus[3]
P/-86 Q1  | Halley |  | 11 km  | 5.5  | 2.0  | 6 August 87 BC  | Recorded by ancient Babylonians and Chinese[3]
C/-43 K1  | Caesar |  | \-  | –4.0  | –9.0  | 25 May 44 BC  | Named after Julius Caesar[4]
P/-11 Q1  | Halley |  | 11 km  | 5.5  | –5.0  | 10 October 12 BC  | Visible to the naked eye for 5 months[3]
X/-4 G1  | Star of Bethlehem?  |  | \-  | \-  | \-  | 15 April 4 BC  |
P/66 B1  | Halley |  | 11 km  | 5.5  | –7.0  | 26 January 66  | Possibly recorded on Josephus' book, The Jewish War
P/141 F1  | Halley |  | 11 km  | 5.5  | –4.0  | 22 March 141  |
X/178 R1  | Great Comet of 178 AD  |  | \-  | \-  | \-  | September 178  | [3]
X/191 T1  | Great Comet of 191 AD  |  | \-  | \-  | \-  | 20 October 191  |
P/218 H1  | Halley |  | 11 km  | 5.5  | –4.0  | 17 May 218  |
C/240 V1  | Great Comet of 240 AD  |  | \-  | 4.5  | \-  | 30 November 240  |
P/295 J1  | Halley |  | 11 km  | 5.5  | –3.0  | 20 April 295  |
P/374 E1  | Halley |  | 11 km  | 5.5  | –3.0  | 17 February 374  | Passed within 13.5 million km from Earth
C/390 Q1  | Great Comet of 390 AD  |  | \-  | 7.0  | –1.0  | 5 September 390  |
C/400 F1  | Great Comet of 400 AD  |  | \-  | 6.0  | 0.0  | 25 February 400  |
C/442 V1  | Great Comet of 442 AD  |  | \-  | 1.5  | 1.0–2.0  | 15 December 442  |
P/451 L1  | Halley |  | 11 km  | 5.5  | –3.0  | 24 June 451  | Appeared before the defeat of Attila the Hun at the Battle of Chalons
P/530 Q1  | Halley |  | 11 km  | 5.5  | –3.0  | 26 September 530  |
C/565 O1  | Great Comet of 565 AD  |  | \-  | 1.5  | 0.0  | 15 July 565  |
C/568 O1  | Great Comet of 568 AD  |  | \-  | 5.0  | 0.0  | 25 September 568  |
P/607 H1  | Halley |  | 11 km  | 5.5  | –4.0  | 13 March 607  | Passed within 13 million km from Earth[3]
P/684 R1  | Halley |  | 11 km  | 5.5  | –2.0  | 28 October 684  | [3]
P/760 K1  | Halley |  | 11 km  | 5.5  | –2.0  | 22 May 760  |
C/770 K1  | Great Comet of 770 AD  |  | \-  | 3.2  | 1.0–2.0  | 5 June 770  |
P/837 F1  | Halley |  | 11 km  | 5.5  | –3.0  | 28 February 837  | Closest known approach to Earth by Halley at 5 million km
C/905 K1  | Great Comet of 905 AD  |  | \-  | 4.5  | 0.0  | 26 April 905  |
P/912 J1  | Halley |  | 11 km  | 5.5  | –2.0  | 9 July 912  |
P/989 N1  | Halley |  | 11 km  | 5.5  | –1.0  | 9 September 989  |
P/1066 G1  | Halley |  | 11 km  | 5.5  | –4.0  | 23 March 1066  | Recorded in the Bayeux tapestry
X/1106 C1  | Great Comet of 1106 |  | \-  | \-  | \-  | 1106  | Parent body of the Kreutz sungrazers
C/1132 T1  | Great Comet of 1132  |  | \-  | 4.5  | –1.0  | 30 August 1132  | [3]
P/1145 G1  | Halley |  | 11 km  | 5.5  | –2.0  | 21 April 1145  | Depicted on the Eadwine Psalter[3]
P/1222 R1  | Halley |  | 11 km  | 5.5  | –1.0  | 30 September 1222  | [3]
C/1240 B1  | Great Comet of 1240  |  | \-  | 2.5  | 0.0  | 21 January 1240  | [3]
C/1264 N1  | Great Comet of 1264 |  | \-  | 3.0–4.0  | 0.0  | 20 July 1264  | [5]
P/1301 R1  | Halley |  | 11 km  | 5.5  | –1.0  | 24 October 1301  | Depicted on the Adoration of the Magi by Giotto di Bondone[3]
P/1378 S1  | Halley |  | 11 km  | 5.5  | –1.0  | 9 November 1378  | [3]
C/1402 D1  | Great Comet of 1402 |  | \-  | 0.0–1.0  | –3.0  | 21 March 1402  | [6]
P/1456 K1  | Halley |  | 11 km  | 5.5  | 0.0  | 9 June 1456  |
C/1468 S1  | Great Comet of 1468  |  | \-  | 3.2  | 1.0–2.0  | 7 October 1468  | [3]
C/1471 Y1  | Great Comet of 1471 |  | \-  | 2.0  | –3.0  | 1 March 1472  | Passed within 10 million km from Earth on January 1472[7]
P/1531 P1  | Halley |  | 11 km  | 5.5  | –1.0  | 25 August 1531  | [3]
C/1532 R1  | Great Comet of 1532  |  | \-  | 1.8  | –1.0  | 18 October 1532  | [3]
C/1533 M1  | Great Comet of 1533  |  | \-  | 3.0  | 0.0  | 15 June 1533  | [3]
C/1556 D1  | Great Comet of 1556 |  | \-  | 3.0  | –2.0  | 22 April 1556  | [8]
C/1577 V1  | Tycho |  | \-  | –1.8  | –3.0  | 27 October 1577  |
P/1607 S1  | Halley |  | 11 km  | 5.5  | 0.0  | 27 October 1607  | Apparition seen by Johannes Kepler
C/1618 W1  | Great Comet of 1618 |  | \-  | 4.6  | 0.0–1.0  | 6 December 1618  |
C/1664 W1  | Great Comet of 1664  |  | \-  | 2.4  | –1.0  | 4 December 1664  | [9]
C/1665 F1  | Great Comet of 1665  |  | \-  | 4.9  | –1.0  | 24 April 1665  | [3]
C/1668 E1  | Great Comet of 1668  |  | \-  | 6.0  | 1.0–2.0  | 28 February 1668  | [3]
C/1680 V1  | Kirch |  | \-  | 4.0  | 1.0–2.0  | 18 December 1680  | Also known as Newton's Comet
P/1682 Q1  | Halley |  | 11 km  | 5.5  | –1.0  | 15 September 1682  | Apparition seen by its namesake, Sir Edmond Halley
C/1686 R1  | Great Comet of 1686  |  | \-  | 5.0  | 1.0–2.0  | 16 September 1686  | [3]
C/1743 X1  | Klinkenberg–Chéseaux |  | \-  | 0.5  | –7.0  | 1 March 1744  |
P/1758 Y1  | Halley |  | 11 km  | 5.5  | –1.0  | 13 March 1759  | First successfully predicted return of Halley
C/1760 A1  | Great Comet of 1760 |  | \-  | 7.6  | 2.0  | 17 December 1759  | Passed within 10.2 million km from Earth
C/1769 P1  | Messier |  | \-  | 3.2  | 0.0  | 8 October 1769  | [3]
C/1807 R1  | Great Comet of 1807 |  | \-  | 1.6  | 1.0  | 19 September 1807  | [3]
C/1811 F1  | Flaguergues |  | 30–40 km  | \-  | 0.0  | 12 September 1811  | Visible to the naked eye for 8.55 months
C/1819 N1  | Tralles |  | \-  | 4.0  | 1.0–2.0  | 28 June 1819  |
C/1823 Y1  | de Bréauté–Pons |  | \-  | 6.5  | 0.0  | 9 December 1823  |
C/1831 A1  | Herapath |  | \-  | 6.2  | 2.0  | 28 December 1830  |
P/1835 P1  | Halley |  | 11 km  | 5.5  | 0.0  | 16 November 1835  |
C/1843 D1  | Great Comet of 1843 |  | \-  | 4.9  | –3.0  | 27 February 1843  | Kreutz sungrazer
C/1844 Y1  | Great Comet of 1844  |  | \-  | 4.9  | 2.5  | 14 December 1844  | [10]
C/1845 L1  | Great Comet of 1845  |  | \-  | 4.0  | –2.0  | 6 June 1845  |
C/1854 F1  | Great Comet of 1854  |  | \-  | 7.0  | 2.0  | 24 March 1854  | [11]
C/1858 L1  | Donati |  | \-  | 3.3  | 0.0–1.0  | 30 September 1858  | First comet to be photographed
C/1861 J1  | Tebbutt |  | \-  | 3.9  | 0.0  | 12 June 1861  |
C/1865 B1  | Great Southern Comet of 1865 |  | \-  | 3.8  | 1.0  | 14 January 1865  | [3]
C/1874 H1  | Coggia |  | \-  | 5.7  | 0.0–1.0  | 9 July 1874  |
C/1880 C1  | Great Southern Comet of 1880 |  | \-  | 7.1–8.9  | 3.0  | 28 January 1880  | Kreutz sungrazer
C/1881 K1  | Tebbutt |  | \-  | 4.1  | 1.0  | 16 June 1881  |
C/1882 R1  | Great Comet of 1882 |  | \-  | 0.7  | –17.0  | 17 September 1882  | Kreutz sungrazer, brightest comet ever recorded in history
C/1887 B1  | Thome |  | \-  | 6.3  | \-  | 11 January 1887  | Kreutz sungrazer
C/1901 G1  | Viscara |  | \-  | 9.0  | –1.5  | 24 April 1901  |
P/1909 R1  | Halley |  | 11 km  | 5.5  | 0.0  | 20 April 1910  |
C/1910 A1  | Great January Comet of 1910 |  | \-  | 5.0  | –5.0  | 17 January 1910  | Appeared about four months before the 1910 apparition of Halley
C/1927 X1  | Skjellerup–Maristany |  | \-  | 5.2  | –4.0  | 18 December 1927  |
C/1947 X1  | Southern Comet of 1947 |  | \-  | 6.0  | –5.0  | 2 December 1947  | [12]
C/1948 V1  | Eclipse Comet of 1948 |  | \-  | 9.0  | –1.0  | 27 October 1948  | [12]
C/1956 R1  | Arend–Roland |  | \-  | 5.9  | –0.5  | 8 April 1957  |
C/1957 P1  | Mrkos |  | \-  | 4.17  | 1.0  | 1 August 1957  |
C/1962 C1  | Seki–Lines |  | \-  | \-  | –1.5  | 1 April 1962  | [11]
C/1965 S1  | Ikeya–Seki |  | \-  | \-  | –10.0  | 21 October 1965  | Kreutz sungrazer. Brightest comet of the 20th century
C/1969 Y1  | Bennett |  | \-  | 4.6  | 0.0  | 20 March 1970  | [3]
C/1975 V1  | West |  | \-  | 4.4  | –3.0  | 26 February 1976  | [3]
C/1995 O1  | Hale–Bopp |  | 60 km  | –1.3  | –1.8  | 1 April 1997  | Visible to the naked eye for 18 months
C/1996 B1  | Hyakutake |  | 4.2 km  | 7.4  | 0.0  | 1 May 1996  | Passed within 0.1 AU from Earth
C/2006 P1  | McNaught |  | 25 km?  | 5.4  | –5.5  | 12 January 2007  | Brightest comet of the 21st century so far
C/2011 W3  | Lovejoy |  | 0.2–0.5 km  | 15.3  | –4.0  | 16 December 2011  | Kreutz sungrazer
C/2020 F3  | NEOWISE |  | 5 km  | 7.5  | 0.5–1.0  | 3 July 2020  | [13][14][15][16][17]
C/2023 A3  | Tsuchinshan–ATLAS |  | 3.2 km?  | 6.5  | –4.9  | 27 September 2024  | [18][19]
C/2024 G3  | ATLAS |  | \-  | 7.6  | –3.8  | 13 January 2025  | [20]
Notes:

(a)Due to a non-spherical, irregular shape, a comet's x, y, and z axes instead of an (average) diameter are often used to describe its dimensions.
(b)Total magnitude (M1) as defined in Gary W. Kronk's Cometography: A Catalog of Comets book series
* List ordered in ascending order by a comet's chronological apparition.

## Notes

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1. ^ Seargent, David A. J. (2009). The greatest comets in history: broom stars and celestial scimitars. New York: Springer. p. vii. ISBN 978-0-387-09512-7.
2. ^ "IAU Comet-naming Guidelines". www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Donald K. Yeomans (April 2007). "Great Comets in History". Jet Propulsion Laboratory/California Institute of Technology (Solar System Dynamics). Retrieved 2011-02-02.
4. ^ Ramsey, John T. & Licht, A. Lewis (1997), The Comet of 44 B.C. and Caesar's Funeral Games, Atlanta, ISBN 0-7885-0273-5`{{citation}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link).
5. ^ The Living Age, Volume 58. Lithotyped by Cowles and Company, 17 Washington St., Boston. Press of Geo. C. Rand & Avery. 1858. p. 879.
6. ^ David A. J. Seargent (2009). The Greatest Comets in History: Broom Stars and Celestial Scimitars. Springer Science + Business Media. p. 99\. ISBN 978-0-387-09512-7.
7. ^ "Great Comet of 1471". Atlas of Great Comets. Cambridge University Press: 49–50\. 2015. doi:10.1017/CBO9781316145166.010. ISBN 9781107093492.
8. ^ Vsekhsvyatsky, S. K. (1958). Physical Characteristics of Comets. Moscow: Fizmatgiz. p. 102.
9. ^ "Great Comet of 1664". Atlas of Great Comets. Cambridge University Press: 72–77\. 2015. doi:10.1017/CBO9781316145166.016. ISBN 9781107093492.
10. ^ Bond, G.P. (1850). "On the great comet of 1844–45". The Astronomical Journal. 1: 97. Bibcode:1850AJ......1...97B. doi:10.1086/100067.
11. ^ a b Bortle, J., "The Bright Comet Chronicles", harvard.edu, retrieved 2008-11-18
12. ^ a b "Brightest comets seen since 1935". www.icq.eps.harvard.edu. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
13. ^ "Weekly Information about Bright Comets (2020 July 18: North)". Seiichi Yoshida. July 18, 2020. Archived from the original on July 19, 2020. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
14. ^ "Seiichi Yoshida's Diary of Comet Observations (2020)". Seiichi Yoshida. July 19, 2020. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
15. ^ "Comet NEOWISE Updtae: Easy To See In The Evening! When And How To See Comet NEOWISE". Farmer's Almanac. July 18, 2020. Archived from the original on July 19, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
16. ^ "APOD: 2022 July 26 - Comet NEOWISE Rising over the Adriatic Sea". NASA. July 26, 2022. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
17. ^ "Great Comets: What Are They, And When Will the Next Comet Be Visible?". Star Walk. October 16, 2024. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
18. ^ 2024 October 21 - Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS over California. APOD Podcast. Event occurs at 6m00s - via YouTube.
19. ^ 2024 November 11 - The Unusual Tails of Comet Tsuchinshan ATLAS. APOD Podcast. Event occurs at 0m19s - via YouTube.
20. ^ "Why Comet G3 (ATLAS) will be 'remembered as the Great Comet of 2025' (photos)". Space.com. January 27, 2025. Retrieved January 27, 2025.

## External links

[edit]

* The bright-comet chronicles. John E. Bortle (W. R. Brooks Observatory)
* Memorable Comets of the Past Gary W. Kronk.
* Brightest comets seen since 1935

* v
* t
* e

Comets

| Features|

* Nucleus
* Coma
* Tails
* Antitail
* Comet dust
* Meteor shower

|
|

Types|

* Periodic
* Numbered
* Lost
* Long period
* Halley-type
* Jupiter-family
* Encke-type
* Main-belt
* Non-periodic
* Near-parabolic
* Hyperbolic
* Unknown-orbit
* Great Comet
* Sungrazing (Kreutz)
* Extinct
* Exocomet
* Interstellar

Related|

* Naming of comets
* Observational history of comets
* Centaur
* Comet discoverers
* LINEAR
* Extraterrestrial atmosphere
* Oort cloud
* Small Solar System body
* Asteroid

Exploration|

* List of missions to comets
* List of comets visited by spacecraft

Latest|

* C/2025 F2 (SWAN)
* C/2024 S1 (ATLAS)
* C/2024 G3 (ATLAS)
* C/2023 P1 (Nishimura)
* C/2023 H2 (Lemmon)
* C/2023 E1 (ATLAS)
* C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS)
* C/2022 E3 (ZTF)
* C/2021 O3 (PanSTARRS)
* C/2021 J1 (Maury-Attard)
* C/2021 A1 (Leonard)
* C/2020 F8 (SWAN)
* C/2020 F5 (MASTER)
* C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE)
* C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS)
* C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS)
* C/2019 U6 (Lemmon)
* 2I/Borisov
* P/2019 LD2 (ATLAS)
* C/2018 Y1 (Iwamoto)
* C/2018 C2 (Lemmon)
* C/2017 U7
* C/2017 K2 (PanSTARRS)

Culture and
speculation|

* Antimatter comet
* Comets in fiction
* Comet vintages

Lists of comets (more)

| Periodic
comets|

| Until 1985
(all)|

* 1P/Halley
* 2P/Encke
* 3D/Biela
* 4P/Faye
* 5D/Brorsen
* 6P/d'Arrest
* 7P/Pons–Winnecke
* 8P/Tuttle
* 9P/Tempel
* 10P/Tempel
* 11P/Tempel–Swift–LINEAR
* 12P/Pons–Brooks
* 13P/Olbers
* 14P/Wolf
* 15P/Finlay
* 16P/Brooks
* 17P/Holmes
* 18D/Perrine–Mrkos
* 19P/Borrelly
* 20D/Westphal
* 21P/Giacobini–Zinner
* 22P/Kopff
* 23P/Brorsen–Metcalf
* 24P/Schaumasse
* 25D/Neujmin
* 26P/Grigg–Skjellerup
* 27P/Crommelin
* 28P/Neujmin
* 29P/Schwassmann–Wachmann
* 30P/Reinmuth
* 31P/Schwassmann–Wachmann
* 32P/Comas Solà
* 33P/Daniel
* 34D/Gale
* 35P/Herschel–Rigollet
* 36P/Whipple
* 37P/Forbes
* 38P/Stephan–Oterma
* 39P/Oterma
* 40P/Väisälä
* 41P/Tuttle–Giacobini–Kresák
* 42P/Neujmin
* 43P/Wolf–Harrington
* 44P/Reinmuth
* 45P/Honda–Mrkos–Pajdušáková
* 46P/Wirtanen
* 47P/Ashbrook–Jackson
* 48P/Johnson
* 49P/Arend–Rigaux
* 50P/Arend
* 51P/Harrington
* 52P/Harrington–Abell
* 53P/Van Biesbroeck
* 54P/de Vico–Swift–NEAT
* 55P/Tempel–Tuttle
* 56P/Slaughter–Burnham
* 57P/du Toit–Neujmin–Delporte
* 58P/Jackson–Neujmin
* 59P/Kearns–Kwee
* 60P/Tsuchinshan
* 61P/Shajn–Schaldach
* 62P/Tsuchinshan
* 63P/Wild
* 64P/Swift–Gehrels
* 65P/Gunn
* 66P/du Toit
* 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko
* 68P/Klemola
* 69P/Taylor
* 70P/Kojima
* 71P/Clark
* 72P/Denning–Fujikawa
* 73P/Schwassmann–Wachmann
* 74P/Smirnova–Chernykh
* 75D/Kohoutek
* 76P/West–Kohoutek–Ikemura
* 77P/Longmore
* 78P/Gehrels
* 79P/du Toit–Hartley
* 80P/Peters–Hartley
* 81P/Wild
* 82P/Gehrels
* 83D/Russell
* 84P/Giclas
* 85D/Boethin

|

After 1985
(notable)|

* 88P/Howell
* 92P/Sanguin
* 96P/Machholz
* 97P/Metcalf–Brewington
* 103P/Hartley
* 107P/Wilson–Harrington
* 108P/Ciffréo
* 109P/Swift–Tuttle
* 122P/de Vico
* 126P/IRAS
* 141P/Machholz
* 144P/Kushida
* 147P/Kushida–Muramatsu
* 153P/Ikeya–Zhang
* 156P/Russell–LINEAR
* 161P/Hartley–IRAS
* 162P/Siding Spring
* 168P/Hergenrother
* 169P/NEAT
* 177P/Barnard
* 178P/Hug–Bell
* 205P/Giacobini
* 209P/LINEAR
* 238P/Read
* 246P/NEAT
* 249P/LINEAR
* 252P/LINEAR
* 255P/Levy
* 273P/Pons–Gambart
* 289P/Blanpain
* 311P/PanSTARRS
* 322P/SOHO
* 323P/SOHO
* 332P/Ikeya–Murakami
* 333P/LINEAR
* 354P/LINEAR
* 362P
* 460P/PanSTARRS

Comet-like
asteroids|

* 596 Scheila
* 2060 Chiron (95P)
* 4015 Wilson–Harrington (107P)
* 7968 Elst–Pizarro (133P)
* 165P/LINEAR
* 166P/NEAT
* 167P/CINEOS
* 60558 Echeclus (174P)
* 118401 LINEAR (176P)
* 238P/Read
* 259P/Garradd
* 311P/PanSTARRS
* 324P/La Sagra
* 331P/Gibbs
* 354P/LINEAR
* 358P/PANSTARRS
* P/2013 R3 (Catalina-PANSTARRS)
* (300163) 2006 VW139

Lost|

| Recovered|

* 9P/Tempel
* 11P/Tempel–Swift–LINEAR
* 15P/Finlay
* 17P/Holmes
* 27P/Crommelin
* 54P/de Vico–Swift–NEAT
* 55P/Tempel–Tuttle
* 57P/du Toit–Neujmin–Delporte
* 69P/Taylor
* 72P/Denning–Fujikawa
* 80P/Peters–Hartley
* 97P/Metcalf–Brewington
* 107P/Wilson–Harrington
* 113P/Spitaler
* 122P/de Vico
* 157P/Tritton
* 205P/Giacobini
* 206P/Barnard–Boattini
* 226P/Pigott–LINEAR–Kowalski
* 271P/van Houten–Lemmon
* 289P/Blanpain
* 489P/Denning

|

Destroyed|

* 3D/Biela
* D/1993 F2 (Shoemaker–Levy 9)

Not found|

* D/1770 L1 (Lexell)
* 5D/Brorsen
* 18D/Perrine–Mrkos
* 20D/Westphal
* 25D/Neujmin
* 34D/Gale
* 75D/Kohoutek
* 83D/Russell
* 85D/Boethin
* D/1978 R1 (Haneda–Campos)

Visited by
spacecraft|

* 21P/Giacobini–Zinner (1985)
* 1P/Halley (1986)
* 26P/Grigg–Skjellerup (1992)
* 19P/Borrelly (2001)
* 81P/Wild (2004)
* 9P/Tempel (2005, 2011)
* C/2006 P1 (2007)
* 103P/Hartley (2010)
* 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko (2014)

Near-Parabolic
comets
(notable)|

| Until 1990|

* C/-43 K1 (Caesar's Comet)
* X/1106 C1 (Great Comet of 1106)
* C/1264 N1 (Great Comet of 1264)
* C/1402 D1 (Great Comet of 1402)
* C/1471 Y1 (Great Comet of 1472)
* C/1577 V1 (Great Comet of 1577)
* C/1652 Y1
* C/1680 V1 (Great Comet of 1680, Kirsch's Comet, Newton's Comet))
* C/1702 H1 (Comet of 1702)
* C/1729 P1 (Comet of 1729, Comet Sarabat)
* C/1739 K1 (Zanotti)
* C/1743 X1 (Great Comet of 1744, Comet Klinkenberg-Chéseaux)
* C/1760 A1 (Great Comet of 1760)
* C/1769 P1 (Great Comet of 1769)
* C/1807 R1 (Great Comet of 1807)
* C/1811 F1 (Great Comet of 1811)
* C/1819 N1 (Great Comet of 1819)
* C/1823 Y1 (Great Comet of 1823)
* C/1843 D1 (Great March Comet of 1843)
* C/1846 J1 (Brorsen)
* C/1847 T1 (Miss Mitchell's Comet)
* C/1852 K1 (Chacornac)
* C/1853 G1 (Schweizer)
* C/1858 L1 (Comet Donati)
* C/1861 G1 (Comet Thatcher)
* C/1861 J1 (Great Comet of 1861)
* C/1862 N1 (Schmidt)
* C/1864 N1 (Tempel)
* C/1865 B1 (Great Southern Comet of 1865)
* X/1872 X1 (Pogson's Comet)
* C/1874 H1 (Comet Coggia)
* C/1881 K1 (Comet Tebbutt)
* C/1882 R1 (Great Comet of 1882)
* C/1887 B1 (Great Southern Comet of 1887)
* C/1893 U1 (Brooks)
* C/1901 G1 (Great Comet of 1901)
* C/1907 G1 (Grigg–Mellish)
* C/1910 A1 (Great January Comet of 1910)
* C/1911 N1 (Kiess)
* C/1911 O1 (Brooks)
* C/1911 S3 (Beljawsky)
* C/1915 C1 (Mellish)
* C/1917 F1 (Mellish)
* C/1927 X1 (Skjellerup–Maristany)
* C/1931 P1 (Ryves)
* C/1936 O1 (Kaho–Kozik–Lis)
* C/1939 H1 (Jurlof–Achmarof–Hassel)
* C/1941 B2 (de Kock-Paraskevopoulos)
* C/1947 X1 (Southern Comet)
* C/1948 L1 (Honda–Bernasconi)
* C/1948 V1 (Eclipse)
* C/1956 R1 (Arend–Roland)
* C/1957 P1 (Mrkos)
* C/1961 O1 (Wilson-Hubbard)
* C/1961 R1 (Humason)
* C/1961 T1 (Seki)
* C/1962 C1 (Seki-Lines)
* C/1963 A1 (Ikeya)
* C/1963 R1 (Pereyra)
* C/1964 N1 (Ikeya)
* C/1965 S1 (Ikeya-Seki)
* C/1969 T1 (Tago-Sato-Kosaka)
* C/1969 Y1 (Bennett)
* C/1970 K1 (White–Ortiz–Bolelli)
* C/1973 E1 (Kohoutek)
* C/1975 T2 (Suzuki–Saigusa–Mori)
* C/1975 V1 (West)
* C/1979 Y1 (Bradfield)
* C/1980 E1 (Bowell)
* C/1983 H1 (IRAS–Araki–Alcock)
* C/1983 J1 (Sugano–Saigusa–Fujikawa)
* C/1989 W1 (Aarseth-Brewington)
* C/1989 X1 (Austin)
* C/1989 Y1 (Skorichenko–George)

|

After 1990|

* C/1990 K1 (Levy)
* C/1992 J1 (Spacewatch–Rabinowitz)
* C/1993 Y1 (McNaught–Russell)
* C/1995 O1 (Hale–Bopp)
* C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake)
* C/1997 L1 (Zhu–Balam)
* C/1998 H1 (Stonehouse)
* C/1998 J1 (SOHO)
* C/1999 F1 (Catalina)
* C/1999 S4 (LINEAR)
* C/2000 WM1 (LINEAR)
* C/2001 A2 (LINEAR)
* C/2001 OG108 (LONEOS)
* C/2001 Q4 (NEAT)
* C/2002 T7 (LINEAR)
* C/2002 V1 (NEAT)
* C/2004 F4 (Bradfield)
* C/2004 Q2 (Machholz)
* C/2006 A1 (Pojmański)
* C/2006 M4 (SWAN)
* C/2006 P1 (McNaught)
* C/2007 E2 (Lovejoy)
* C/2007 F1 (LONEOS)
* C/2007 N3 (Lulin)
* C/2007 Q3 (Siding Spring)
* C/2007 W1 (Boattini)
* C/2009 F6 (Yi–SWAN)
* C/2009 R1 (McNaught)
* C/2010 X1 (Elenin)
* C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS)
* C/2011 W3 (Lovejoy)
* C/2012 E2 (SWAN)
* C/2012 F6 (Lemmon)
* C/2012 K1 (PANSTARRS)
* C/2012 S1 (ISON)
* C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring)
* C/2013 R1 (Lovejoy)
* C/2013 US10 (Catalina)
* C/2013 V5 (Oukaimeden)
* C/2014 E2 (Jacques)
* C/2014 Q1 (PanSTARRS)
* C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy)
* C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli–Bernstein)
* C/2015 ER61 (PanSTARRS)
* C/2015 V2 (Johnson)
* C/2017 K2 (PanSTARRS)
* 1I/2017 U1 ʻOumuamua
* C/2018 Y1 (Iwamoto)
* 2I/Borisov
* C/2019 U6 (Lemmon)
* C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS)
* C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE)
* C/2020 F8 (SWAN)
* C/2021 A1 (Leonard)
* C/2022 E3 (ZTF)
* C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS)
* C/2023 P1 (Nishimura)
* C/2024 G3 (ATLAS)
* C/2024 S1 (ATLAS)

After 1910
(by name)|

* Aarseth-Brewington
* Arend–Roland
* ATLAS
* C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS)
* C/2024 G3 (ATLAS)
* C/2024 S1 (ATLAS)
* Austin
* Beljawsky
* Bennett
* Bernardinelli–Bernstein
* Boattini
* Borisov
* Bowell
* Bradfield
* C/1979 Y1
* C/2004 F4
* Brooks
* Catalina
* C/1999 F1
* C/2013 US10
* de Kock–Paraskevopoulos
* Eclipse
* Elenin
* Hale-Bopp
* Honda–Bernasconi
* Humason
* Hyakutake
* Ikeya
* C/1963 A1
* C/1964 N1
* Ikeya-Seki
* IRAS–Araki–Alcock
* ISON
* Iwamoto
* Jacques
* Johnson
* Jurlof–Achmarof–Hassel
* Kaho–Kozik–Lis
* Kiess
* Kohoutek
* Lemmon
* C/2012 F6
* C/2018 C2
* C/2019 U6
* Leonard
* Levy
* LINEAR
* C/1999 S4
* C/2000 WM1
* C/2001 A2
* C/2002 T7
* LONEOS
* C/2001 OG108
* C/2007 F1
* Lovejoy
* C/2007 E2
* C/2011 W3
* C/2013 R1
* C/2014 Q2
* Lulin
* Machholz
* McNaught
* C/2006 P1
* C/2009 R1
* McNaught–Russell
* John E. Mellish
* C/1915 C1 (Mellish)
* C/1917 F1 (Mellish)
* Mrkos
* NEAT
* C/2001 Q4
* C/2002 V1
* NEOWISE
* Nishimura
* Oukaimeden
* ʻOumuamua
* Pan-STARRS
* C/2011 L4
* C/2012 K1
* 311P/PanSTARRS
* C/2014 Q1
* C/2015 ER61
* C/2017 K2
* Pereyra
* Pojmański
* Ryves
* Seki
* Seki–Lines
* Siding Spring
* C/2007 Q3
* C/2013 A1
* Skjellerup–Maristany
* Skorichenko–George
* SOHO
* Southern
* Spacewatch–Rabinowitz
* Stonehouse
* Sugano–Saigusa–Fujikawa
* Suzuki–Saigusa–Mori
* SWAN
* C/2006 M4
* C/2012 E2
* C/2020 F8
* Tago-Sato-Kosaka
* Tsuchinshan–ATLAS
* West
* White–Ortiz–Bolelli
* Wilson–Hubbard
* Yi–SWAN
* Zhu–Balam
* ZTF

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Small Solar System bodies

Minor planets|

* Designation
* Groups
* List
* Moon
* Meanings of names

Asteroid|

* Active
* Aten asteroid
* Asteroid belt
* Family
* Jupiter trojan
* Near-Earth
* Spectral types

Distant minor planet|

*     * Centaur
* Neptune trojan
* Damocloid
* Trans-Neptunian object
* Detached
* Kuiper belt
* Oort cloud
* Scattered disc

Comets|

* Extinct
* Great
* Halley-type
* Hyperbolic
* Long-period
* Lost
* Near-parabolic
* Periodic
* Sungrazing

Other|

* Cosmic dust
* Meteoroids
* Space debris

Portals:

* Astronomy
* Stars
* Spaceflight
* Outer space
* Solar System

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