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Comet

Halley's Comet

A short-period comet (1P/Halley) that returns to the inner Solar System roughly every 76 years.

Type
Comet
Domain
Scientific connections
Connections
9

NASA/W. Liller · Public domain

Orbit & physical parameters

Osculating orbit and physical parameters from the NASA JPL Small-Body Database · Halley-type Comet* · near-Earth · epoch 1968-01-20 (JD 2439875.5 TDB) · Earth MOID 0.0745097 au

Semi-major axis17.928635 ± 9.9587e-9 auNASA JPL · calculated
Eccentricity0.967936 ± 7.5527e-9NASA JPL · calculated
Perihelion distance0.574864 ± 1.3552e-7 auNASA JPL · calculated
Aphelion distance35.282406 ± 1.9598e-8 auNASA JPL · calculated
Inclination162.19053 ± 1.5093e-5 degNASA JPL · calculated
Longitude of ascending node59.098947 ± 1.9861e-5 degNASA JPL · calculated
Argument of perihelion112.241431 ± 2.0534e-5 degNASA JPL · calculated
Orbital period27,728 ± 2.3103e-5 dNASA JPL · calculated
Diameter11 kmNASA JPL · catalogued
Geometric albedo0.04 ± 0.01NASA JPL · estimated
Full field-level provenance
  • Semi-major axis: Jet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics · JPL SBDB · orbit.elements · a · JPL orbit determination (least-squares fit to the observation arc) · calculated · JPL solution by Davide Farnocchia, 8518 obs · retrieved 2026-07-11
  • Eccentricity: Jet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics · JPL SBDB · orbit.elements · e · JPL orbit determination (least-squares fit to the observation arc) · calculated · JPL solution by Davide Farnocchia, 8518 obs · retrieved 2026-07-11
  • Perihelion distance: Jet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics · JPL SBDB · orbit.elements · q · JPL orbit determination (least-squares fit to the observation arc) · calculated · JPL solution by Davide Farnocchia, 8518 obs · retrieved 2026-07-11
  • Aphelion distance: Jet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics · JPL SBDB · orbit.elements · ad · JPL orbit determination (least-squares fit to the observation arc) · calculated · JPL solution by Davide Farnocchia, 8518 obs · retrieved 2026-07-11
  • Inclination: Jet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics · JPL SBDB · orbit.elements · i · JPL orbit determination (least-squares fit to the observation arc) · calculated · JPL solution by Davide Farnocchia, 8518 obs · retrieved 2026-07-11
  • Longitude of ascending node: Jet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics · JPL SBDB · orbit.elements · om · JPL orbit determination (least-squares fit to the observation arc) · calculated · JPL solution by Davide Farnocchia, 8518 obs · retrieved 2026-07-11
  • Argument of perihelion: Jet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics · JPL SBDB · orbit.elements · w · JPL orbit determination (least-squares fit to the observation arc) · calculated · JPL solution by Davide Farnocchia, 8518 obs · retrieved 2026-07-11
  • Orbital period: Jet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics · JPL SBDB · orbit.elements · per · JPL orbit determination (least-squares fit to the observation arc) · calculated · JPL solution by Davide Farnocchia, 8518 obs · retrieved 2026-07-11
  • Diameter: Jet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics · JPL SBDB · phys_par · phys.diameter · catalogued value · JPL solution by Davide Farnocchia, 8518 obs · retrieved 2026-07-11
  • Geometric albedo: Jet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics · JPL SBDB · phys_par · phys.albedo · Bayesian estimate · JPL solution by Davide Farnocchia, 8518 obs · retrieved 2026-07-11

Orbital elements are a calculated JPL orbit-determination fit, all referred to the single osculating epoch above (solution by Davide Farnocchia); each carries its own uncertainty. Fields the database did not provide are omitted, never invented.

Halley's Comet — Comet Halley
Comet Halley · Kuiper Airborne Observatory, C141 aircraft April 8/9, 1986, New Zealand Expedition

Experience system V6

Comet profile

A trajectory-led view for nucleus, coma, tail, orbit class, and mission or observatory links.

Orbit viewerComet anatomyDiscovery factsGraph links
  1. 01

    Observe

    WIKIMEDIA imagery anchors the visual reading with licensed source metadata.

  2. 02

    Measure

    Measurement panels use graph coverage, catalog identifiers, and source availability without inventing values.

  3. 03

    Locate

    Associated with Orionids.

  4. 04

    Connect

    9 graph relations shape the knowledge viewport.

Object type
Comet
Graph relations
9
Verified sources
2
Image records
2
Domain
Scientific connections
Status
Graph entity

Scientific map

Orbit context

The SunHalley's CometCatalog position context
Primary orbital anchor
The Sun
Measured orbit field
Orbital distance not recorded in this graph record

Original SVG diagram

Small-body anatomy

Small-body readingIrregular nucleus/bodyComa and tail contextOrbit class from catalog data1P/Halley
Designation
1P/Halley
Discovery
Not recorded
Eccentricity
Not recorded
Inclination
Not recorded
Edmond HalleyEdmond HalleyGiottoGiottoHalley-Type CometsOort CloudOrionidsOrionidsThe Periodicity o...Halley's CometComet

Visual knowledge graph

Relationships, not isolated facts

This viewport is generated from the Asteria knowledge graph. Science, culture, and interpretive links remain separated by domain so visual context never changes the evidentiary meaning of a relation.

Image provenance

Photography as evidence

2 cleared visual records

Continue the atlas

Curated next objects

Observation

How this was captured

Source
WIKIMEDIA

Data

Scientific data & provenance

Data & provenance

Stable ID
comet:halleys-comet
Type
Comet
Domain
Scientific connections
Relationships
9
Graph version
1.0.0

Dataset membership

Open data

In the graph export: graph.json · graph.jsonld

Planned API: GET /api/v0/entities/comet:halleys-comet

Scientific quality

Substantial
Unreviewed2 sourcesv1.0.0

4 of 6 applicable dimensions complete

Description
Complete
Source coverage
Complete
Relationship coverage
Complete
Review coverage
None
Citation coverage
None
Image coverage
Complete
Timeline coverage
Not applicable

Scientific entity. Dimensions that cannot apply to this object are excluded rather than counted as gaps. See the evidence framework and authority dashboard.

Scientific citations

2

Real, source-backed references — primary papers first, then datasets and institutional sources. Formatted through the citation engine; nothing is fabricated.

  • NASA JPL (Caltech)

    Cite (APA / BibTeX)
    NASA JPL (Caltech) (n.d.). Halley's Comet — JPL Small-Body Database. NASA JPL (Caltech). https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html
    
    @misc{cite:jpl-comet-halleys-comet,
      title        = {Halley's Comet — JPL Small-Body Database},
      organization = {NASA JPL (Caltech)},
      year         = {n.d.},
      url          = {https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html},
      note         = {Orbit and physical data for Halley's Comet.}
    }
  • NASA

    Cite (APA / BibTeX)
    NASA (n.d.). Halley's Comet — NASA Science. NASA. https://science.nasa.gov/
    
    @misc{cite:nasa-comet-halleys-comet,
      title        = {Halley's Comet — NASA Science},
      organization = {NASA},
      year         = {n.d.},
      url          = {https://science.nasa.gov/},
      note         = {NASA overview of Halley's Comet.}
    }

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Sources & references

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.

  • BritannicaEncyclopaedia Britannica

    General reference for the history of astronomy, biographies, and cultural context.