Halley-Type Comets
Periodic comets with intermediate periods of roughly 20–200 years, often on highly inclined or retrograde orbits.
Overview
Periodic comets with orbits of decades to a couple of centuries, named for their prototype, Halley's Comet.
Members
3 modelled members.
- Halley's Comet1P/Halley
The most famous comet, visible from Earth every ~76 years, whose return in 1986 was met by an international fleet including ESA's Giotto — and the parent of two annual meteor showers.
TypeHalley-type cometPeriod76 yr - Swift–Tuttle109P/Swift–Tuttle
A large Halley-type comet on a 133-year orbit, the parent body of the reliable Perseid meteor shower each August.
TypeHalley-type cometPeriod133 yrDiscovered1862 - Tempel–Tuttle55P/Tempel–Tuttle
The parent comet of the Leonid meteor shower, whose 33-year returns produce the periodic Leonid storms.
TypeHalley-type cometPeriod33 yrDiscovered1865
Knowledge connections
- Group includesHalley's Comet
- Group includesComet Swift–Tuttle
- Group includesTempel–Tuttle
Sources
The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.
- NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration
Mission data, planetary science, space telescopes, and public-domain imagery.
Most NASA-produced imagery is in the public domain; individual items are checked for usage terms before publication.
- NASA JPLJet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics
Orbital data, ephemerides, and small-body parameters for planets, asteroids, and comets.