Comets | Astronomy.com

A color image shows a large sphere with orange, brown, and cream-colored horizontal bands positioned in the upper portion of the frame against a solid black background. A small, distinct black circle sits on the upper left side of the banded sphere's surface. Extending downward from beneath the planet toward the bottom right is a long, diagonal trail of small, glowing white fragments that look like a broken line of light.

Today in the History of Astronomy

July 8, 1992: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks up

A painted color portrait shows a man with pale skin, blue eyes, and white powdered hair looking directly forward from the center of the frame in "Messier1.jpg". He wears a dark velvet jacket adorned with a red ribbon and medal, a white ruffled lace cravat, and stands before a muted grey background with a draped blue curtain on the left. The lighting is soft and focused on his face, creating a gentle contrast with his dark clothing and the dimly lit celestial globe partially visible beside him

Today in the History of Astronomy

June 26, 1730: The birth of Charles Messier

A black-and-white photograph features an elderly man with a long white beard and white hair seated inside a wooden room with high ceilings. He sits directly beneath a massive, metallic telescope tube that slants diagonally down from the upper left toward the lower right of the frame. In the background, a wooden ladder stands to the left of the man against a wall of vertical wooden planks, all under a bright, high-contrast light that illuminates the center of the scene.

Today in the History of Astronomy

June 24, 1881: First photographic spectrum of a comet

The best comets this century

3I/ATLAS came from a strange, cold world

Today in the History of Astronomy

May 8, 2013: The promise of Comet ISON

Comets, Features

Halley’s Comet through the ages

Robotic Spaceflight, Today in the History of Astronomy

April 6, 2000: A comet tail surprise

Today in the History of Astronomy

March 30, 240 B.C.E.: Halley’s Comet over China

Today in the History of Astronomy

March 22, 1997: Comet Hale-Bopp peaks

Today in the History of Astronomy

March 8, 1986: The second of five probes flies by Halley’s Comet

Today in the History of Astronomy

March 2, 2004: Rosetta launches