Halley's Comet
Famous returning iceball
Halley's Comet is a periodic comet visible from Earth roughly every 75 to 79 years, making it the only short-period comet regularly observable with the naked eye.
Named after astronomer Edmond Halley, who calculated its orbit and predicted its return in 1758, it became the first comet recognized as periodic rather than a one-time celestial event.
Its most recent appearance was in 1986, with the next expected around 2061.
People born during one appearance sometimes hope to live long enough to see Halley's Comet return.
Sign of future calamity
- prophecyForetelling of future events
- harbingerOne who foreshadows
- forebodingFearful anticipation of harm
- auguryOmen interpretation practice
divination · superstition · Battle of Hastings · Bayeux Tapestry · bad omen · doom · warning · Mark Twain
Rear animal appendage
- nucleusCentral controlling part
- comaUnwakeable unconsciousness
- solar systemStar and orbiting bodies
- telescopeInstrument magnifying faraway objects
observatory · meteor shower · debris trail · spectroscopy · astronomer · skywatching · celestial · cosmic
Conic section curve
- trajectoryPath of moving object
- periodPunctuation ending sentences
- perihelionOrbital point nearest sun
- aphelionFarthest point from sun
eccentricity · retrograde · orbital path · gravitational · velocity · solar orbit · return · cycle
Vision without optical instruments
- night skyDarkness above after sunset
- visibilityRange of clear sight
- apparitionVisible supernatural manifestation
- skywatchingObserving the night sky
stargazing · glowing · luminous · celestial event · once-in-a-lifetime · anticipation · photography · wonder
Forecast of coming events
- Isaac NewtonLaws of motion formulator
- Royal SocietyUK's national science academy
- GreenwichLondon district, meridian origin
- scientific revolutionTransformative change in understanding
portent
Sign of future calamity
- prophecyForetelling of future events
- harbingerOne who foreshadows
- forebodingFearful anticipation of harm
augury · divination · superstition · Battle of Hastings · Bayeux Tapestry · bad omen · doom · warning · Mark Twain · 1066
tail
Rear animal appendage
- nucleusCentral controlling part
- comaUnwakeable unconsciousness
- solar systemStar and orbiting bodies
telescope · observatory · meteor shower · debris trail · spectroscopy · astronomer · skywatching · celestial · cosmic · space
ellipse
Conic section curve
- trajectoryPath of moving object
- periodPunctuation ending sentences
- perihelionOrbital point nearest sun
aphelion · eccentricity · retrograde · orbital path · gravitational · velocity · solar orbit · return · cycle · inclination
naked eye
Vision without optical instruments
- night skyDarkness above after sunset
- visibilityRange of clear sight
- apparitionVisible supernatural manifestation
skywatching · stargazing · glowing · luminous · celestial event · once-in-a-lifetime · anticipation · photography · wonder · awe
prediction
Forecast of coming events
- Isaac NewtonLaws of motion formulator
- Royal SocietyUK's national science academy
- GreenwichLondon district, meridian origin
- night skystars, moon, constellations, shooting stars, constellation
- spacespace, sun, moon, stars, star
- space objectsgalaxy, star cluster, nebula, planet, quasar
- stargazingtelescope, stargazing guides, night sky, stars, constellation
- Astronomy HistoryCopernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Newton, Ptolemy
- 1986 EventsChernobyl, Challenger disaster, Top Gun, Ferris Bueller, Aliens
Halley's CometPolaris
Celestial north marker
fixed star · the Moon · fixed stars · North Star · constellations