Glossary term: Cometa Halley
Description: O cometa Halley é, sem dúvida, o cometa mais famoso porque é o único cometa periódico visível a olho nu da Terra com um período curto o suficiente (cerca de 75 anos) para permitir que as pessoas o vejam duas vezes em suas vidas. A última visita do cometa foi em 1986, e espera-se que ele retorne em 2061. Seu nome é uma homenagem ao astrônomo inglês Edmond Halley, que foi o primeiro a calcular sua periodicidade e prever sua próxima visita. Halley notou que os cometas que apareceram nos anos de 1531, 1607 e 1682 tinham órbitas muito semelhantes e, portanto, eram todos visitas do mesmo cometa ao Sistema Solar interno. Ele previu corretamente o retorno do cometa em 1758.
Ele foi visitado pelas missões espaciais Vega e Giotto. Essas missões descobriram que a poeira do cometa consiste principalmente de silicatos, ferro e magnésio, além de compostos de carbono, hidrogênio, oxigênio e nitrogênio (CHON). O núcleo do cometa contém principalmente gelo.
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Term and definition status: The original definition of this term in English have been approved by a research astronomer and a teacher The translation of this term and its definition is still awaiting approval
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In Other Languages
- Árabe: مذنب هالي
- Alemão: Halleyscher Komet
- Inglês: Halley's Comet
- Espanhol: El Cometa Halley
- Francês: La comète de Halley
- Italiano: La cometa di Halley
- Japonês: ハレー彗星 (external link)
- Chinês Simplificado: 哈雷彗星
- Chinês Tradicional: 哈雷彗星
Related Media
Halley's Comet
Caption: Halley’s Comet, is a well-known periodic comet, named after the English astronomer Edmond Halley. It has an orbital period of approximately 75 years and is visible from Earth with the naked eye when it passes through the inner solar system.
The image shows Halley’s Comet, officially designated 1P/Halley, with a tail of gas and dust streaming away from the Sun. It was taken from the La-Silla-Observatory in Chile in 1986 during Halley's Comet's last visit to the inner solar system. The stars in this image appear elongated or as lines of three different colored dots as image was created from three separate observations in different colors of light and the telescope was tracking the comet, which was moving very slightly compared to the background stars. Note that the comets tail does not point in exactly the same direction as the elongation of the stars. This shows us that the comet tail is not always behind the comet, but instead pointing away from the Sun.
The comet passes its perihelion (closest distance to the Sun) at a distance of around 0.59 astronomical units, right between the orbits of Mercury and Venus. Beyond Neptune, it reaches its aphelion (furthest distance from the Sun) at a distance of approximately 35 astronomical units. Halley's Comet reached aphelion in December 2023 and is now moving inwards again. It is expected to be seen with the naked eye from Earth again in mid-2061.
Credit: ESO
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