Comets!!!

Comets are largely ice and rock, and mostly live in the outer fringes of the solar system. It is likely that part of the Earth's water came from comets that have hit the Earth in the past. They represent the greatest collision hazard for the Earth, since they cross our orbit with much greater speed than asteroids.

General

The comet pages at LANL, SEDS and JPL.

A comet and meteor shower page of general interest.

The Comet Obsesrvation home page at JPL gives details about how to see a comet for yourself.

Hale-Bopp

This was the brightest comet of the 1990s! It was  easily seen during March and early April of 1997.

The comets pages from Astronomy and Sky and Telescope magazines discuss comets in general, but also Hale-Bopp. This is a NASA home page devoted to it. Another, offered by a commerical company, is here.

Other sources may of information about comets are summarized in the age from JPL.

Others

Comet Hyakutake was the bright comet that came in 1996, becoming the first naked eye comet since 1976.

The Comet Shoemaker-Levy Collision with Jupiter, a NASA page with lots of graphics.

Return to Dr. Ferland's Ast 191 home page.
Last updated March 12, 2003 10:38 AM