This is a list of periodic
comet
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that warms and begins to release gases when passing close to the Sun, a process called outgassing. This produces an extended, gravitationally unbound atmosphere or Coma (cometary), coma surrounding ...
s that were
numbered by the
Minor Planet Center
The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.
Funct ...
after having been observed on at least two occasions. Their
orbital periods vary from 3.2 to 366 years. there are 499 numbered comets (1P–499P).
There are 405
Jupiter-family comets (JFCs), 38
Encke-type comets (ETCs), 14
Halley-type comets (HTCs), five
Chiron-type comets (CTCs), and one
long-period comet (
153P). 75 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 ''minor ...
s – five
main-belt comet
Active asteroids are Small Solar System body, small Solar System bodies that have asteroid-like orbits but show comet-like visual characteristics. That is, they show a Coma (cometary), coma, comet tail, tail, or other visual evidence of mass-loss ...
s, two
centaur
A centaur ( ; ; ), occasionally hippocentaur, also called Ixionidae (), is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse that was said to live in the mountains of Thessaly. In one version o ...
s (CEN), and one
Apollo asteroid – 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, which broke into over 50 pieces during its 1995
perihelion.
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, 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
*
List of non-periodic comets
*
List of periodic comets
Periodic comets (also known as short-period comets) are comets with orbital periods of less than 200 years or that have been observed during more than a single perihelion passage (e.g. 153P/Ikeya–Zhang). "Periodic comet" is also sometimes us ...
References
{{Portal bar, Astronomy, Stars, Spaceflight, Outer space, Solar System
*
*
numbered comets
*