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You are here: Home / Space / How Consistent Are the Orbits Of Comets Around the Sun and How Many Comets Have Had Their Paths Tracked?

How Consistent Are the Orbits Of Comets Around the Sun and How Many Comets Have Had Their Paths Tracked?

June 13, 2020 by Karen Hill

Comets’ orbits around the Sun are not reliable.

While the paths of more than 100 short-period comets have been mapped or tracked, astronomers can suddenly “lose” a comet.

Sometimes it is simply gone. Other times, when it is found, it isn’t always as expected.

The Wilson-Harrington comet, discovered in 1949, was expected to return in 1952.

It wasn’t seen again until 1979, and then it came back resembling an asteroid instead of a comet.

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  • Top 25 Inventions That Changed Our Lives Forever
  • What Are the Physical Characteristics of a Comet and What Happens To Comets As They Approach the Sun?
  • What Is a Comet?

Filed Under: Space

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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Next Post: What Are Meteorites, Are All Meteors Meteorites, and What Does the Word Meteorite Mean In Greek? »

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