This is a list of periodic
comet
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ...
s that were
numbered by the
Minor Planet Center after having been observed on at least two occasions. Their
orbital period
The orbital period (also revolution period) is the amount of time a given astronomical object takes to complete one orbit around another object. In astronomy, it usually applies to planets or asteroids orbiting the Sun, moons orbiting planets ...
s vary from 3.2 to 366 years. there are 436 numbered comets (1P–436P),
most of them being members of the
Jupiter-family (JFC). There are also 31
Encke-type comet
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ar ...
s (ETCs), 14
Halley-type comet
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ar ...
s (HTCs), five
Chiron-type comets (CTCs), and one
long-period comet
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are ...
(
153P). About a third of these bodies are also
near-Earth comets (NECs). In addition, eight numbered comets are principally classified as
minor planet
According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''mino ...
s – five
main-belt comet
Active asteroids are small Solar System bodies that have asteroid-like orbits but show comet-like visual characteristics. That is, they show comae, tails, or other visual evidence of mass-loss (like a comet), but their orbit remains within Jup ...
s, two
centaurs (CEN), and one
Apollo asteroid
The Apollo asteroids are a group of near-Earth asteroids named after 1862 Apollo, discovered by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth in the 1930s. They are Earth-crossing asteroids that have an orbital semi-major axis greater than that of the Earth ...
– and display characteristics of both an asteroid and a comet.
Occasionally, comets will break up into
multiple chunks, as volatiles coming off the comet and rotational forces may cause it to break into two or more pieces. An extreme example of this is
73P/Schwassmann–Wachmann
73P/Schwassmann–Wachmann, also known as Schwassmann–Wachmann 3, is a periodic comet that has a 5.4 year orbital period and that has been actively disintegrating since 1995. It last came to perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) in March 20 ...
, which broke into over 50 pieces during its 1995
perihelion
An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. For example, the apsides of the Earth are called the aphelion and perihelion.
General description
There are two apsides in any elli ...
.
For a larger list of periodic Jupiter-family and Halley-type comets including unnumbered bodies, ''see
list of periodic comets''.
List
Multiples
51P/Harrington
: ''
back to main list''
This is a list of (3 entries) with all its cometary fragments listed at
JPL's SBDB ''(see )''.
57P/du Toit–Neujmin–Delporte
: ''
back to main list''
This is a list of (2 entries) with all its cometary fragments listed at JPL's SBDB ''(see )''.
73P/Schwassmann–Wachmann
: ''
back to main list''
In 1995, comet
73P/Schwassmann–Wachmann
73P/Schwassmann–Wachmann, also known as Schwassmann–Wachmann 3, is a periodic comet that has a 5.4 year orbital period and that has been actively disintegrating since 1995. It last came to perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) in March 20 ...
, broke up into several pieces and as of its last perihelion date, the pieces numbered at least 67 with 73P/Schwassmann–Wachmann C as the presumed original nucleus. Because of the enormous number, the pieces of it have been compiled into a separate list.
This is a list of (68 entries) with all its cometary fragments listed at JPL's SBDB ''(see )''.
101P/Chernykh
: ''
back to main list''
This is a list of (2 entries) with all its cometary fragments listed at JPL's SBDB ''(see )''.
128P/Shoemaker–Holt
: ''
back to main list''
This is a list of (3 entries) with all its cometary fragments listed at JPL's SBDB ''(see )''.
141P/Machholz
: ''
back to main list''
This is a list of (3 entries) with all its cometary fragments listed at JPL's SBDB ''(see )'' and
CBAT.
205P/Giacobini
: ''
back to main list''
This is a list of (4 entries) with all its cometary fragments listed at JPL's SBDB ''(see )''.
213P/Van Ness
: ''
back to main list''
This is a list of (2 entries) with all its cometary fragments listed at JPL's SBDB ''(see )''.
332P/Ikeya–Murakami
: ''
back to main list''
This is a list of (10 entries) with all its cometary fragments listed at JPL's SBDB ''(see )''.
See also
*
List of interstellar comets
*
List of comets by type
This is a list of comets (bodies that travel in Elliptic orbit, elliptical, Parabolic trajectory, parabolic, and sometimes Hyperbolic trajectory, hyperbolic orbits and display a Comet tail, tail behind them) listed by type. Comets are sorted into ...
*
List of non-periodic comets
*
List of periodic comets
References
{{Portal bar, Astronomy, Stars, Spaceflight, Outer space, Solar System
*
*
numbered comets
*