1P/HalleyThe most famous comet — first whose return was predicted
Halley's Comet
Halley's Comet is the most famous of all comets and the only short-period comet routinely visible to the naked eye, returning to the inner Solar System roughly every 76 years. Though recorded since at least 240 BC, it was Edmond Halley who in 1705 recognized the 1531, 1607, and 1682 apparitions as a single returning body and correctly predicted its 1758 return. During its 1986 appearance, ESA's Giotto spacecraft flew within ~600 km of the nucleus and captured the first-ever close-up images of a comet's core; Halley will next return in mid-2061.
- Designation
- 1P/Halley
- Type
- Short-period
- Orbital period
- ~76 years
- Discovery
- Periodicity identified by Edmond Halley in 1705 (observed since at least 240 BC)
