The names of all comets. The most famous comets

Comets are one of the most mysterious celestial bodies that appear in the sky every now and then. Today, scientists believe that comets are a byproduct left over from the formation of stars and planets billions of years ago. They consist of a core of various types of ice (frozen water, carbon dioxide, ammonia and methane mixed with dust) and a large cloud of gas and dust surrounding the core, often called a "coma". Today, more than 5260 are known. Our review contains the brightest and most impressive.

Its origin may be the very remnants of the solar system that solidified in this area. Some gravitational anomalies caused by nearby stars can dislodge some bodies from their positions, and they are attracted to the Sun. When they enter the solar system, these bodies can acquire three types of orbit. Parabolic and hyperbolic, which approach only the Sun and return to interstellar space. These are non-periodic comets. Elliptical. They are periodic comets.

This type of orbit is usually caused by the gravitational influence of planets, primarily Jupiter and Saturn, which tend to catch comets in the solar system. What are comets? Essentially, comets are “dirty ice rocks.” The ice on these rocks is made up mostly of volatile material, and the “mud” is made up mostly of dust and rocks.


1. Great Comet of 1680


Great Comet of 1680

Discovered by German astronomer Gottfried Kirch on November 14, 1680, this magnificent comet became one of the brightest comets of the seventeenth century. She was remembered for the fact that she was visible even in the daytime, as well as for her spectacular long tail.

Comets are objects of the solar system. Unlike planets, whose orbits are nearly circular, comets have highly elliptical orbits, which increases their approaching distance from the Sun. The further away from the comet's aphelion it takes longer for the comet to completely turn the sun.

What is hair and tail? As this “dirty rock of ice” gets closer to the sun, the temperature on its surface increases. Typically, comets spend most of their “lives” at such great distances from the Sun that their temperatures are much lower. When sufficiently close to the Sun, the process of volatization of part of the constituent comets begins. The gases and grains released from the core form a cloud around them through this process. We call this cloud of hair comets. Some of the material in this cloud will be "blown" by the "solar wind" in the opposite direction of the Sun, forming the comet's tail.

2. Mrkos (1957)


Mrkos

Comet Mrkos was photographed by Alan McClure on August 13, 1957. The photo made a great impression on astronomers, since for the first time a double tail was noticed on a comet: a straight ion tail and a curved dust tail (both tails are directed in the opposite direction from the Sun).

From the point of view of the solar system, the Earth is close to the Sun. When a comet approaches our planet, because it has also approached the Sun, it approaches the hair and tail. What we see of a comet in the inner solar system is its hair and tail.

Origin of comets Short-period comets have orbits in planes close to the plane of planetary orbits; Long-lived comets have orbits in planes with a wide variety of orientations. They would be more than a trillion objects, of all different sizes.

When these objects are disrupted, they will begin to "fall" into the inner regions of the Solar System, thus becoming long-period comets. This is the currently accepted model for the emergence of short-period comets. This “puck” of cometary nuclei is now called the “Kuiper Belt.”

3. De Kock-Paraskevopoulos (1941)


De Kock-Paraskevopoulos

This strange but beautiful comet is best remembered for its long but faint tail, and for being visible at dawn and dusk. So strange name the comet received its name because it was discovered simultaneously by an amateur astronomer named De Kock and the Greek astronomer John S. Paraskevopoulos.

It is estimated that the Kuiper belt consists of about 000 objects with a diameter of more than 300 km; 000 with more than 100 km; 000 from more than 30 km; etc. There is a comet in the heavens! Two comets "cross" the inner regions of the Solar System, in excellent conditions for observation from the latitude of Minas Gerais. They can be seen even with the naked eye, provided there is a suitable location, such as pollution typical for major cities. From a city like Belo Horizonte, you can get a great view of these comets with a small telescope or even binoculars.

The appearance of a comet in the night sky has always been an astronomical event that has captured human attention for centuries. Many of them were "visiting" comets, but a few stood out because of the exceptional brilliance they presented. These great comets were remarkable to their observers.

4. Skjellerup - Maristani (1927)


Skjellerup - Maristany

Comet Skjellerup-Maristany was a long-period comet whose brightness suddenly increased greatly in 1927. It was visible to the naked eye for approximately thirty-two days.

There are many comets that orbit our Sun. Some are observed by astronomers using observing instruments. Others are even visible to the naked eye, unnoticeably. However, a relatively small number of comets sometimes offer real glasses in the night sky. They appear bright and have long tails, attracting the attention of even the most distracted ones who don't usually pay much attention to the night sky.

In order for a comet to appear large and bright enough in our skies, it must meet certain criteria, namely have a very active nucleus, pass relatively close to the Sun, and also relatively close to Earth. Having said that, we will now see a list of some of the great comets that have been observed throughout history.

5. Mellish (1917)


Mellish

Mellish is a periodic comet that has been observed primarily in the southern hemisphere. Many astronomers believe that Mellish will return to Earth's horizon in 2061.

6. Brooks (1911)


That same year, Halley's Comet appeared, associated with this achievement. Halley's Comet is depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry. Also known as Comet Kirsch. It was the first comet that could be detected using a telescope. This discovery was made by the German astronomer Gottfried Kirch on November 14 of this comet, which reached such a brightness that it could be observed even during the day. This comet was also characterized by its long tail. The last time this was observed was on March 19th.

This comet was discovered independently by several astronomers in November. The comet was visible to the naked eye for several months. In addition to its strong brightness, this comet is known to have developed 6 tails after passing through perihelion. At that time, the comet was visible to the naked eye during the day, even appearing in the sky very close to the Sun. The apparent magnitude is estimated to be around -17, a truly exceptional brightness.

Brooks

This bright comet was discovered in July 1911 by astronomer William Robert Brooks. It was remembered for its unusual blue color, which was the result of radiation from carbon monoxide ions.

7. Daniel (1907)


Daniel

Comet Daniel was one of the most famous and widely observed comets of the early twentieth century.

Photo of the Great Comet. However, much of the anticipation that year was for the return of Halley's famous Comet. Halley's Comet became visible to the naked eye around April 10 of that year, passing through perihelion on April 20. This Halley passage was truly remarkable considering that planet Earth passed by the comet's tail on May 19th. This situation will eventually lead to the assumption that life on Earth will be at risk given the existence of toxic gas in the tail. This has unduly prompted many people to look for ways to prevent poisoning from such gas, namely the purchase of masks.

8. Lovejoy (2011)


Lovejoy

Comet Lovejoy is a periodic comet that comes extremely close to the sun at perihelion. It was discovered in November 2011 by Australian amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy.

9. Bennett (1970)


Several astronomers have explained that the gas is so diffuse that it does not cause any harm to life on Earth. In addition to these concerns, Halley's Comet provided its observers with a wonderful spectacle. The apparent size of this comet will be achieved. They say that in solar system there are two million comets. The most famous Comet, Halley, was last seen when it touched down on Earth in May. The inhabitants of Earth will see you again.

The most famous comet in history, Kohoutek, was spotted from Earth in January Ten months ago, astronomer Dr. Lubos Kohoutek first observed the famous comet when it was still 600 million kilometers from Earth. In a certain place, the head of the comet had a size of 000 km, and the tail - 50 million kilometers.

Bennett

The next comet was discovered by John Caister Bennett on December 28, 1969, when it was two astronomical units from the Sun. It was notable for its radiant tail, composed of plasma compressed into filaments by magnetic and electric fields.

10. Seki Lines (1962)


Predictions were that Kohoutek, as it entered the solar system at high speed, would be "as bright as a quarter moon." But his arrival brought a disappointing vision of a pale, dull shadow. However, radio astronomers were not disappointed.

This showed that comets are not formed in planetary orbits of the inner part of our solar system, but in deep space beyond the planets. However, Kohoutek will return, and people will see him again - after a thousand years. Strong fiery meteors - some, huge balls then; other simple particles bombard the earth's atmosphere at a rate of one million per hour. Only about 150 meteors per year enter the Earth's atmosphere and survive until they reach the Earth's surface. Most big meteorite, ever found on Earth, was the one that landed on the west of Khob.

Seki Lines

Initially visible only in the southern hemisphere, Seki Lines became one of the brightest objects in the night sky on April 1, 1962.

11. Arend-Roland (1956)


Arend-Roland

Visible only in the southern hemisphere during the first half of April 1956, Comet Arend-Roland was first discovered on November 8, 1956 by Belgian astronomers Sylvain Arend and Georges Roland in photographic images.

There is nothing mysterious in the name. Comets are universally named after their discoverer. It is a tribute to the patience, vigilance and astronomical skill that made the discovery possible. And the English astronomer Edmund Galli not only discovered his comet, but also taught how to discover other comets.

Undoubtedly, it is the tail that distinguishes the comet from other stars, but they are also distinguished by the uniqueness of their manifestations. The stars are always in place, fixed in the constellations, and the planets move with known movements along their planned trajectories. However, a comet comes and goes, and when it reaches our sky, it appears in a previously empty spot in the sky, it stretches out its tail, it moves among the stars and after a few days, weeks or months it loses its luminosity and disappears. Given the uniqueness of its appearance and behavior, in ancient times it was doubtful that comets had any relationship with the sky.

12. Eclipse (1948)


Eclipse

Eclipse is an exceptionally bright comet that was discovered during solar eclipse November 1, 1948.

13. Viscara (1901)


Viscara

The great comet of 1901, sometimes called Comet Vizcar, became visible to the naked eye on April 12. It was visible as a second magnitude star with a short tail.

It was more plausible to admit that they were moving in the upper atmosphere. This concept was based on Aristotle's arguments because if the sky were unchanging, then nothing as random and irregular as a comet could inhabit it. Comets in their adventures and events were more like freakish storms than point planets. Or also like the earthquake they remembered for their sudden and unexpected arrival. One way or another, comets can be studied and experimented with.

And thus Edmund Halley discovered the most famous comet of all times. The history of the discovery began with a visit to Cambridge in Corneau, the famous theory of the solar system, published in his book "Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy", published in "There shows" that all material bodies are attracted to each other by a universal force, which varies in the opposite ratio to the square of the distance that separates them, and that the planets revolve around the Sun in accordance with Kepler's three laws.

14. McNaught (2007)


McNaught

Comet McNaught, also known as the Great Comet of 2007, is a periodic celestial body discovered on August 7, 2006 by British-Australian astronomer Robert McNaught. It was the brightest comet in forty years and was clearly visible to the naked eye in the southern hemisphere in January and February 2007.

More specifically, Newton showed that, in terms of its speed, the orbit of each body around the Sun corresponds to one of a conic section, an ellipse, a parabola or a hyperbola. He was forty years old and was a professor of mathematics at Cambridge University. Meanwhile, Halley, who lived in London, was twenty-seven years old and a member of the Royal Society with an outstanding reputation as an astronomer. He was famous for his 360-star catalog of the Southern Hemisphere, which he prepared from observations made on St.

Helena when he was only twenty-one years old. Given the economic difficulties of publication, Galli paid the costs of Newton's book out of his own pocket, while the author, who enjoyed a good economic position, contributed no costs.

15. Hyakutake (1996)


Hyakutake

Comet Hyakutake was discovered on January 31, 1996, during its closest passage to Earth. She was named " Big comet 1996" and was remembered for the fact that it was a celestial body that approached the Earth at the minimum distance over the past two hundred years.

16. Vesta (1976)


Vesta

Comet Vesta was perhaps the most exciting and eye-catching comet of the last century. It was visible to the naked eye, and its two huge tails stretched across the entire sky.

17. Ikeya-Seki (1965)


Ikeya-Seki

Also known as the "Great Comet of the Twentieth Century", Ikeya-Seki was the brightest comet of the last century, appearing even brighter than the Sun in daylight. According to Japanese observers, it was about ten times brighter than the full moon.

18. Halley's Comet (1910)


Halley's Comet

Despite the appearance of much brighter long-period comets, Halley is the brightest short-period (it returns to the Sun every 76 years) comet that is clearly visible to the naked eye.

19. Great Southern Comet (1947)


Great Southern Comet

In December 1947, a huge comet was spotted near the setting sun, the brightest in decades (since Halley's Comet in 1910).

The most famous comets

In 2009, Robert McNaught discovered comet C/2009 R1, which is approaching the Earth, and in June 2010, the inhabitants northern hemisphere can see it with the naked eye.

Comets (from the Greek kometes - star with a tail, comet; in fact - long-haired), bodies of the Galaxy that have the appearance of nebulous objects, usually with a light clump - the core in the center and a tail.

Before Newton's discovery of the law of global gravitation, there was no explanation for why comets appear and disappear in the earth's sky. Halley showed that they move in closed, elongated elliptical orbits and return to the Sun more than once. There are not so few of them - only about a thousand have been recorded over the centuries. 172 are short-period, in other words, they fly near the Sun more than once in 200 years, but most of the comets make one clearance in a period of 3 to 9 years.

Their path through the solar system is usually limited by the orbit of the farthest of the planets - Pluto, in other words, exceeds the distance from the Earth to the Sun by less than 40 times. Such comets have been observed from Earth more than once. Most of comets move in very elongated orbits, taking them far beyond the boundaries of the Galaxy. Such long period comets They are observed only once, after which they disappear from the sight of earthlings for several thousand years.
Comets are named after the name of the discoverer (Chernykh’s comet, Kopf’s comet), and if there are two or even three of them, then they all are listed (Hale-Bopp comet, Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet). When one person has found several comets, a number is added after the name (Comet Wild-1, Comet Wild-2).

The most popular of all cyclic comets, which moves in an elongated elliptical orbit around the Sun, returning to Earth every 75.5 years, is Halley's Comet (Comet 1P/Halley). It has been observed 30 times since 239 BC. The closest (and brightest) appearance of Halley's comet to us was noted in 837.
It last appeared in 1986 and will next be observed in 2061. In 1986, it was studied at close range by 5 interplanetary probes - two Japanese "Sakigake" and "Suisei", two Russian ("Vega- 1″ and “Vega-2″) and one European “Giotto”.

More than 1,500 photographs of the comet were taken. The results of observations completely confirmed the existence of a solid core in the comet, perhaps consisting of ice and dust. It has an irregular elongated shape, reminiscent of a potato, measuring 14x7.5x7.5 km. The core is dark, reflecting only 4% of incident sunlight.

Comet Lexel is the closest comet to Earth, passing 2.2 million km from it. It was discovered by Charles Messier on June 14, 1770, but named after Andrei Ivanovich (Anders Johann) Leksel, who studied its orbit and published the results of his own calculations in 1772 and 1779. The shortest distance to the Earth was reached on July 1, 1770 and amounted to 0.015 astronomical units (au, i.e. 2.244 million km).

Comet Encke (2P/Encke) was first seen by the French astronomer Pierre Méchain in 1786. It was re-observed by Caroline Herschel in 1795, by Jean Louis Pons and others in 1805, and again by Pons in 1818. The orbit was first calculated in 1819 German astronomer Johann Encke, who identified it with the comets observed in 1786, 1795 and 1805. The comet's elliptical orbital period is 3.3 years, the shortest known. The comet's radius is 3.1 km, and its closest approach to the Sun is 0.331 AU. e.

From then until 2001, 54 passages of the comet through perihelion (the point of the orbit closest to the Sun) were recorded celestial body, revolving around it). The number of appearances of this comet in the sky can, for example, be compared with the 30 known returns of Halley's Comet over a long period of time - from 239 BC. until 1986. The Taurid meteor shower, observed once a year in October and November, is associated with Comet Encke.

Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) is one of the brighter comets of the 20th century, standing out for its very enormous size. Discovered by Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp (July 22, 1995) and reached perihelion on April 1, 1997, with a brighter brightness around magnitude -1. Its core is estimated to be 90 km across and has an eccentricity of 0.914. The maximum length of its ion tail was 148 million km, and its orbital period was 2380 years.

Comet Giacobini-Zinner (21P/Giacobini-Zinner), discovered in 1900 in Nice (France) by Giacobini, and in 1913 by Zinner. The period of revolution around the Sun is 6.52 years. Its diameter is 6 km. Associated with this comet is the observed at times in October meteor shower A draconid formed when small comet particles entering the Earth's atmosphere move in the same orbit.

Comet Bennett (C/1969 Y1) is a beautiful comet discovered on December 28, 1969 by Bennett (South Africa). Its brightness reached zero magnitude in March 1970, when the comet had a tail 30° long.