Halleys Comet is one of the most well-known and studied comets in our solar system. It was named after Edmund Halley, who observed it in 1607 and correctly predicted its return in 1758. Halleys Comet orbits the sun every 76 years, making it the shortest known comet orbit. Every time it passes close to the sun, it releases a spectacular tail of gas and dust that can be seen from Earth.
Although Halleys Comet is often called a dirty snowball, it is actually mostly made up of ice and dust. The ice is thought to come from water vapor that has been frozen in the comet over millions of years. As the comet approaches the sun, the heat causes some of this ice to turn into gas, which forms the coma – a fuzzy atmosphere around the nucleus (core) of the comet. The dust particles are thought to be leftovers from when Halleys Comet formed 4.6 billion years ago in our young solar system.
When Halleys Comet swings by Earth, we get an amazing light show as its coma reflects sunlight back at us. But sometimes things can get even more exciting! If there are any large chunks of rock or dust in Halleys tail, they can cause meteor showers on Earth as they burn up in our atmosphere. These meteors are commonly known as “ shooting stars”
The next time Halleys Comet will be visible from Earth will be in 2061 – so mark your calendars!