Best Comets
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Edmond Halley (1656–1742) was an English astronomer, mathematician, and geophysicist who served as the second Astronomer Royal from 1720 until his death. In 1705 he published A Synopsis of the Astronomy of Comets, in which he calculated the orbits of two dozen comets and predicted that sightings in...
Charles Messier was a French astronomer active in the late eighteenth century. He created a detailed catalog of over eleven hundred deep-sky objects including galaxies, star clusters, and nebulae. This work significantly aided amateur astronomers attempting to identify comets by providing visual ref...
Caroline Herschel was a pioneering eighteenth-century astronomer. Born in Germany, she made significant contributions to observational astronomy alongside her brother William. Her meticulous observations led to the discovery of numerous comets and nebulae, notably improving comet catalogs. She becam...
Heinrich Olbers was a German astronomer who discovered the asteroids Pallas and Vesta in the early 19th century and is famous for articulating the paradox regarding the dark night sky.
Edmond Halley was a prominent 17th-century English scientist whose work significantly advanced astronomy, physics, and mathematics. Notably, he accurately calculated the orbit of a periodic comet, now known as Halley’s Comet, demonstrating innovative use of elliptical orbits. He also supported Isaac...
Carolyn Shoemaker was an American astronomer known for discovering and co-discovering comets and asteroids, despite beginning her astronomical career without formal scientific training. Working closely with Eugene Shoemaker and David Levy, she co-discovered Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 in 1993; the comet'...
Maria Margarethe Kirch was a German astronomer who discovered the comet C/1702 H1 in 1702, becoming the first woman credited with discovering a comet.
Carolyn S. Shoemaker (1929–2021) was an American astronomer who became one of the most prolific discoverers of comets in history. Working at the Palomar Observatory in California, she identified more than 30 comets and hundreds of asteroids over her career. Her most significant discovery was Comet S...
Edward Emerson Barnard (1857–1923) was an American observational astronomer who joined the staff of Lick Observatory in California and later moved to Yerkes Observatory in Wisconsin. He discovered Jupiter's fifth moon, Amalthea, in 1892, the first Jovian satellite found since Galileo's time, and mea...
Maria Mitchell was an American astronomer who, in 1847, discovered a comet subsequently named "Miss Mitchell's Comet." This achievement earned her a gold medal prize from the King of Denmark and made her the first female professional astronomer in the United States. In 1865, she joined Vassar Colleg...
David Levy is a Canadian amateur astronomer and science writer best known for co-discovering Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 alongside Eugene and Carolyn Shoemaker in 1993. The comet's collision with Jupiter in July 1994 marked the first time astronomers directly observed a major impact between Solar System...
Fred Lawrence Whipple was an American astronomer whose work focused on comets, meteors, and artificial satellites. In 1950 he proposed the "dirty snowball" model, describing a cometary nucleus as a mixture of volatile ices and dust whose heating near the Sun produces a coma and tails. He also direct...
Edward Emerson Barnard was an American astronomer renowned for his observational work in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1916, he discovered Barnard's Star, notable for having the highest proper motion of any known star relative to the Sun. A pioneer of astrophotography, he also cataloged...
Fred Lawrence Whipple (1906-2004) was an American astronomer who made significant contributions to the study of comets and meteors. While working at Harvard College Observatory, he proposed in 1950 the 'icy conglomerate' model (popularly known as the 'dirty snowball' theory) suggesting that comet nu...
Heinrich Wilhelm Matthias Olbers was a German astronomer and physician who made significant contributions to celestial science in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Practicing medicine by day in Bremen, he pursued astronomy at night, discovering the large asteroids Pallas in 1802 and Vesta in 1...
Brian Marsden was a British astronomer recognized for his work on calculating the orbits of comets, asteroids, and other small Solar System bodies. He directed the Minor Planet Center from 1978 to 2006 and also led the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. His precise orbital calculations and c...
Robert H. McNaught is a Scottish-Australian astronomer recognized for his extensive work in the field of observational astronomy and minor planet discovery. He has been an active participant in various comet and asteroid surveys, including the Siding Spring Survey in Australia. Throughout his career...
Michael F. A'Hearn was an American astronomer who led NASA's Deep Impact mission, which struck comet Tempel 1 with an impactor in 2005.
David H. Levy, a Canadian amateur astronomer and science writer, co-discovered Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, which struck Jupiter in 1994.
German astronomer (1791–1865) who computed the orbit of Encke's Comet, which at roughly 3.3 years has the shortest known period of any periodic comet.
German astronomer (1758–1840) who discovered asteroids Pallas (1802) and Vesta (1807) and formulated Olbers' paradox on the darkness of the night sky.
Kaoru Ikeya, a Japanese amateur astronomer, co-discovered the sungrazing Comet Ikeya-Seki in 1965, one of the 20th century's brightest.
John Russell Hind was an English astronomer at George Bishop's observatory who discovered ten asteroids, including Iris in 1847.
American planetary scientist at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory known for cometary research and for serving as project scientist on the New Horizons Pluto flyby mission.
Yuji Hyakutake was a Japanese amateur astronomer who discovered Comet Hyakutake, C/1996 B2, a bright close-passing comet of 1996.
Thomas Bopp was an American amateur astronomer who independently co-discovered Comet Hale-Bopp in 1995 while observing in Arizona.
