List of comets by type


This is a list of comets listed by type. Comets are sorted into four categories: periodic comets, non-periodic comets, comets with no meaningful orbit, and lost comets, displayed as either P, C, X, and D.
Many of the earlier comets to be observed in history are designated with an X or D due to not having the tools to measure a comet's orbit accurately and eventually losing it. X/1106 C1 is a good example. The orbital elements for the older non-periodic comets in the list assume that the comet has an eccentricity of roughly 1, and therefore the calculations are only approximate.

Guide to comet lists

After Edmond Halley recognized that several apparitions of a comet every 75.3 years dating back to 239 BC were the same comet, it gave way to a new designation of periodic comets, with the first being named 1P/Halley. To date, there are 380 of these periodic comets, with many more on the way to getting an official designation.

Non-periodic comets

Non-periodic comets are generally comets that have only been seen on one occasion, or comets that have periods of thousands of years, to comets that are truly non-periodic, and will only come around the Solar System. The following comets are organized by their described types:

Ejection-trajectory comets

These are comets with an eccentricity so large that they only made one pass through the Solar System. These comets are further divided into near-Parabolic and Hyperbolic comets. A hypothetical true parabolic comet would have an eccentricity of exactly 1, and hyperbolic comets are any comet with an eccentricity of over 1. Most of the comets marked with an X are from the material cited here and the other comets are sourced from JPL Small-Body Database. Due to their hyperbolic orbits, it is impossible to determine where they come from, but it is expected that they are from the Oort Cloud, a cloud of icy bodies several thousand Astronomical units away from the Sun. However a few of these may be Interstellar comets
Comets observed in early times, which were later found to be observations of numbered periodic comets, are marked with /. For instance, X/-239 K1 was an appearance of Halley's comet in 239 BC, and as such is written as 1P/-239 K1. A significant portion of the comets passing closer than 0.01 AU to the Sun are fragments of the comet of 371 BC, which fractured into several pieces on the 326 AD perihelion, which further fractured into thousands of pieces on the 1106 AD perihelion, creating the cometary group now known as the Kreutz sungrazers. Due to the sheer size, and the fact that none of the group members have been given a numbered designation, the members are not stated on this list, and instead are listed in a separate list further [|below].

Near-parabolic comets

Comets with a very high eccentricity and a period of over 1,000 years that don't quite have a high enough velocity to escape the Solar System. Often, these comets, due to their extreme semimajor axes and eccentricity, will have small orbital interactions with planets and minor planets, most often ending up with the comets fluctuating significantly in their orbital path. These comets probably come from the Oort cloud, a cloud of comets orbiting the Sun from ~10,000 to roughly 50,000 AU.

Lost comets

The following comets, assigned with a D before their name, were subsequently lost after their discovery, and often remain lost to this day:
Comet designationNameEccentricitySemimajor axis Inclination Perihelion distance Perihelion dateLast observed
D/1766 G1Helfenzrieder0.8482.6657.8650.4061766/04/271766/05/03
D/1770 L1Lexell's Comet0.7863.1531.5520.6741770/08/141770/10/03
D/1884 O1Barnard0.5833.075.471.2791884/08/161884/11/08
D/1886 K1Brooks0.5713.09212.6711.3251886/06/071886/07/03
D/1894 F1Denning0.6983.7975.5271.1471894/02/091894/06/05
D/1895 Q1Swift0.6523.7292.9921.2981895/08/211896/02/06
D/1918 W1Schorr0.4693.5455.5751.8841918/09/301918/12/31
D/1952 B1Harrington–Wilson0.5143.42816.351.66491951/10/301952/02/25
D/1977 C1Skiff–Kosai0.2593.8473.2012.851976/08/031977/03/12
D/1978 R1Haneda-Campos0.66523.28985.94721.1014141978/10/091978/11/29

Short period comets

Halley-type comets

Comets with a period between 20 and 200 years, named after the first identified member, Halley's Comet. These comets orbit between the orbit of Jupiter and Pluto, and are thought to be long-period comets that slowly migrated inwards, or Jupiter family comets that had been slingshotted outwards by Jupiter's gravity

Unnumbered Jupiter-family comets

While Jupiter-family comets are officially defined by, they can also be loosely defined by any comet with a period of less than 20 years, a relatively low inclination, and an orbit coinciding loosely with that of Jupiter's. These comets are often patchily observed, as orbital interactions with the planet often cause comets' orbits to become perturbed, causing them to not be found at the expected position in the sky and subsequently lost.

D/1993 F2 (Shoemaker–Levy 9)

One such Jupiter-family comet, Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9, approached close enough to Jupiter sometime between the late 1960s and early 1970s, and was caught into orbit of it. By the comet's discovery, an extremely close approach with Jupiter one year previously had fractured the comet into many pieces, before it collided with Jupiter between 16 July and 22 July 1994. The fragments are listed separately here, at epoch 1994/05/08.
FragmentEccentricitySemimajor axis Period Inclination Perihelion distance Jupiter impact date
A0.2162096.8647917.996.003295.3805631994/07/16 20:11
B0.2156206.8597517.975.990225.3806521994/07/17 02:50
C0.2151696.8555017.955.981965.3804111994/07/17 07:12
D0.2147256.8515817.935.972975.3803701994/07/17 11:54
E0.2144116.8487717.925.966635.3803181994/07/17 15:11
F0.2135856.8416317.905.948465.3803621994/07/18 00:33
G0.2128816.8352017.875.935515.3801121994/07/18 07:32
H0.2117796.8254717.835.912875.3799731994/07/18 19:32
K0.2104256.8135117.795.885075.3797751994/07/19 10:21
L0.2093616.8041617.755.863135.3796321994/07/19 22:17
N0.2082776.7947217.715.840465.3795361994/07/20 10:31
P10.2077456.7903517.695.829295.3796891994/07/20 16:30
P20.2078876.7914717.705.831265.3796081994/07/20 15:23
Q10.2074056.7870017.685.822825.3793481994/07/20 20:12
Q20.2074536.7874917.685.823615.3794031994/07/20 19:44
R0.2065816.7798217.655.805875.3792321994/07/21 05:33
S0.2057376.7724817.635.788485.3791291994/07/21 15:15
T0.2055046.7707317.625.783005.3793191994/07/21 18:10
U0.2051676.7676417.615.776315.3791411994/07/21 21:55
V0.2046166.7628317.595.764895.3790461994/07/22 04:22
W0.2042826.7598217.585.759825.3789191994/07/22 08:05

Sungrazing comets

These comets have perihelion distances of less than 0.055 AU. Most belong to the Kreutz Sungrazers, a group of comets split off from the great comet of 1106, and before that, the comet of 371 BC. There are also several other cometary groups, all much smaller, that occasionally pass through. This list covers all Sungrazing groups, including sporadic, or ungrouped sungrazers.

Kreutz sungrazers

The largest group of them all, the Kreutz sungrazers are a group of comets descended from the breakup of a comet in 326 AD. They live up to their name, typically traveling less than 2 solar radii from the Sun. Because they travel so close, they often burn up, and it is the cause of their breakup. Many bright comets are members of the group, including Comet Ikeya–Seki, which broke in 3 pieces.

Meyer group

This is the second largest sungrazing group, and the only one with no discerned period. Further observations of this group may eventually find one, however.
Comet designationNameEccentricitySemimajor axis Period Inclination Node Perihelion distance Perihelion date
C/1996 N3SOHO1.072.1273.160.03511996/07/03
C/1997 G7SOHO1.070.3373.940.03511997/04/08
C/1997 H4SOHO1.073.1372.330.03561997/04/21
C/1997 H5SOHO1.079.1869.130.03711997/04/29
C/1997 L2SOHO1.071.6972.620.03811997/06/10
C/1997 O2SOHO1.071.9273.070.03561997/07/25
C/1997 U8SOHO1.071.9171.150.0311997/10/19
C/1997 X7SOHO1.072.6272.820.03461997/12/15
C/1998 G9SOHO1.084.2667.910.0371998/04/12
C/1998 V8SOHO1.072.0172.880.03631998/11/03
C/1998 W7SOHO1.072.1273.210.03621998/11/28
C/1999 F3SOHO1.073.3172.360.03631999/03/17
C/1999 K16SOHO1.071.7372.640.03391999/05/26
C/1999 L9SOHO1.070.7370.160.0381999/06/09
C/1999 P7SOHO1.071.32730.03721999/08/13
C/2000 B8SOHO1.070.7575.090.0342000/01/16
C/2000 C2SOHO1.071.3573.710.0372000/02/03
C/2000 C5SOHO1.072.2265.160.03582000/02/07
C/2000 J8SOHO1.072.573.650.03672000/05/06
C/2000 N4SOHO1.074.573.890.03512000/07/04
C/2000 X9SOHO1.072.6673.960.03862000/12/03
C/2001 C7SOHO1.073.6854.750.0352001/02/11
C/2001 E1SOHO1.073.3772.240.03572001/03/15
C/2001 K11SOHO1.072.3673.280.03392001/05/16
C/2001 L10SOHO1.071.772.40.03552001/06/01
C/2001 R7SOHO1.073.7785.280.03722001/09/12
C/2001 T1SOHO1.072.8772.560.03642001/10/09
C/2001 V6SOHO1.069.7673.640.03742001/11/02
C/2001 X8SOHO1.072.2874.350.03712001/12/12
C/2001 X10SOHO1.073.4673.790.0362001/12/15
C/2002 A4SOHO1.072.1375.450.03662002/01/01
C/2002 H8SOHO1.069.3473.710.03362002/04/20
C/2002 P3SOHO1.073.8475.810.03592002/08/12
C/2002 R8SOHO1.075.9559.710.03432002/09/15
C/2002 T2SOHO1.070.9470.730.03692002/10/04
C/2002 U6SOHO1.073.0674.620.03592002/10/28
C/2002 V4SOHO1.072.574.750.03572002/11/09
C/2002 X6SOHO1.072.5574.750.03462002/12/02
C/2002 Y2SOHO1.073.5274.510.042002/12/19
C/2003 B1SOHO1.073.3674.150.03552003/01/17
C/2003 H5SOHO1.071.3575.170.03512003/04/27
C/2003 K5SOHO1.072.574.110.03482003/05/21
C/2003 K6SOHO1.071.8773.670.03722003/05/30
C/2003 U4SOHO1.074.9473.970.03572003/10/21
C/2003 W2SOHO1.073.2674.960.03142003/11/29
C/2003 Y1SOHO1.072.8174.70.03542003/12/20
C/2004 B2SOHO1.073.174.890.03532004/01/29
C/2004 C2SOHO1.072.9274.60.03252004/02/05
C/2004 G2SOHO1.072.6274.010.03832004/04/10
C/2004 H4SOHO1.067.8774.620.03432004/04/16
C/2004 H5SOHO1.068.6276.030.03352004/04/30
C/2004 T2SOHO1.073.6772.450.03462004/10/09
C/2004 U3SOHO1.073.2574.010.03752004/10/18
C/2005 B4SOHO1.071.6971.690.03532005/01/30
C/2005 C1SOHO1.067.4775.840.03922005/02/02
C/2005 H2SOHO1.078.8372.430.03622005/04/17
C/2005 H9SOHO1.073.5473.960.03522005/04/29
C/2005 K4SOHO1.073.2574.480.03732005/05/16
C/2005 K9SOHO1.073.0674.470.03542005/05/28
C/2005 O5SOHO1.074.4167.930.03612005/07/26
C/2005 Q2SOHO1.074.5176.480.03772005/08/23
C/2005 Q8SOHO1.072.4277.20.03772005/08/25
C/2005 T9SOHO1.072.5175.230.03682005/10/08
C/2005 W9SOHO1.072.6373.130.0372005/11/19
C/2005 W11SOHO1.076.0872.710.03962005/11/20
C/2005 Y8SOHO1.073.7574.290.03382005/12/25
C/2006 B4SOHO1.073.1573.890.03452006/01/26
C/2006 F6SOHO1.074.1375.030.03332006/03/23
C/2006 J5SOHO1.072.1271.460.03872006/05/08
C/2006 R3SOHO1.075.1466.290.03372006/09/02
C/2006 T6SOHO1.067.07100.840.03532006/10/10
C/2006 U10SOHO1.071.6874.910.03462006/10/20
C/2006 X10SOHO1.072.6374.20.03482006/12/15
C/2007 A6SOHO1.070.5770.670.03822007/01/11
C/2007 C10SOHO1.072.7773.190.03512007/02/07
C/2007 F4SOHO1.071.4176.090.03472007/03/28
C/2007 J1SOHO1.072.5973.870.03482007/05/02
C/2007 K12SOHO1.072.5273.940.03462007/05/18
C/2007 R10SOHO1.075.873.160.0372007/09/15
C/2007 U7SOHO1.073.4371.480.03252007/10/27
C/2007 V10SOHO1.076.9573.510.0352007/11/09
C/2007 X7SOHO1.071.9873.580.03782007/12/10
C/2007 X14SOHO1.072.4773.790.03452007/12/14
C/2007 Y8SOHO1.072.7773.610.03442007/12/28
C/2008 D6SOHO1.070.8572.50.03382008/02/19
C/2008 F1SOHO1.066.7194.560.03182008/03/20
C/2008 H4SOHO1.073.4672.350.03732008/04/18
C/2008 J10SOHO1.072.1873.310.03692008/05/07
C/2008 J12SOHO1.070.9471.570.03792008/05/08

Kracht group

This and the Marsden group, both are periodic, both with periods of approximately 3 years. They contain fewer members than the Meyer and Kreutz groups, probably as a result of their periodic nature, leading them to burn up more frequently. They are believed to be the parent bodies of the Southern Delta Aquariids meteor shower, occurring between July and August and usually having 15–20 meteors an hour.
Comet designationNameEccentricitySemimajor axis Period Inclination Node Perihelion distance Perihelion date
C/1996 X3SOHO1.014.78510.04261996/12/06
C/1996 X4SOHO1.013.750.790.04921996/12/06
C/1996 X5SOHO1.013.7851.280.0491996/12/06
C/1999 M3SOHO1.012.3536.330.04411999/06/30
C/1999 N6SOHO1.012.1532.50.04351999/07/12
C/2001 Q7SOHO1.013.2843.950.04452001/08/21
C/2001 Q8SOHO1.013.0744.760.04512001/08/24
C/2001 R8SOHO1.013.5842.190.04372001/09/06
C/2001 R9SOHO1.012.4748.90.04722001/09/07
C/2002 N2SOHO1.013.852.930.0492002/07/11
C/2002 Q8SOHO1.013.750.380.04792002/08/25
C/2002 Q10SOHO1.013.5450.990.04842002/08/27
C/2002 R5SOHO0.985263.216125.7714.1213.20.04742002/09/05
C/2002 S4SOHO1.013.5150.810.04842002/09/18
C/2002 S5SOHO1.014.0349.010.04672002/09/19
P/2002 S7SOHO0.984963.223445.7913.650.30.048492002/09/21
C/2002 S11SOHO1.013.6850.70.04822002/09/30
C/2004 A3SOHO1.014.7544.750.04332004/01/16
C/2004 B3SOHO1.013.2844.90.05152004/01/18
C/2004 J4SOHO1.012.3534.30.04172004/05/05
C/2004 J12SOHO1.012.6833.750.03982004/05/12
C/2004 J13SOHO1.012.4736.120.04412004/05/13
C/2004 J15SOHO1.012.2834.560.04382004/05/14
C/2004 J16SOHO1.014.6334.390.03142004/05/14
C/2004 J17SOHO1.013.7935.60.03562004/05/15
C/2004 J18SOHO1.011.8934.230.04612004/05/15
C/2004 J20SOHO1.012.7635.860.04192004/05/13
C/2004 L10SOHO1.012.5435.760.04312004/06/14
342P/SOHOSOHO0.982603.043005.3113.2743.40.05292016/07/01
C/2008 E4SOHO1.013.1351.850.04992008/03/03
C/2008 G6SOHO1.014.3549.130.04832008/04/13

Marsden group

Ungrouped sungrazers

Comet designationNameEccentricitySemimajor axis Period Inclination Node Perihelion distance Perihelion date
C/1680 V1Great Comet of 16800.999986444.4285937060.6784276.63390.0062221680/12/18
C/1695 U11.093.589286.0180.04231695/10/23
C/1816 B1Pons1.043.111325.8290.04851816/03/01
C/1826 U1Pons1.090.6234237.55050.0269041826/11/18
C/1847 C1Hind0.99991473.25561030048.663623.8240.0425931847/03/30
C/1865 B1Great Southern Comet1.092.4945254.82520.0258441865/01/14
C/1961 O1Wilson0.9999621057.86843441024.2116298.95450.0401991961/07/17
C/1962 C1Seki–Lines1.00000365.0142304.67760.0313971962/04/01
C/1996 V2SOHO1.033.4189.360.04881996/11/11
C/1997 S4SOHO1.0154.63135.760.0261997/09/29
C/1997 V7SOHO1.0137.4157.780.02161997/11/03
C/1998 G3SOHO1.053.86322.50.03541998/04/12
C/1999 Y2SOHO1.0111.42235.50.04831999/12/28
C/2000 J2SOHO1.0146.6132.190.03352000/05/08
C/2000 V4SOHO1.054.97324.910.05032000/11/11
C/2000 Y6SOHO1.087.3229.470.02522000/12/20
C/2000 Y7SOHO1.089.02228.930.02452000/12/20
C/2001 C5SOHO1.0166.26322.520.02562001/02/13
321P/SOHO SOHO0.981082.4254093.7820.1165.20.045892016/04/10
C/2001 N1SOHO1.095.09302.920.00522001/07/06
C/2001 P1SOHO1.029.9140.140.01132001/08/05
C/2001 Q3SOHO1.0106.63155.030.03732001/08/26
C/2001 T5SOHO1.055.26327.740.04762001/10/15
C/2002 G1SOHO1.0133.92106.020.03392002/04/02
C/2002 Q6SOHO1.065.9670.920.01032002/08/23
C/2002 Q9SOHO1.022.4519.580.03042002/08/19
C/2003 G3SOHO1.0169.787.610.01682003/04/05
C/2003 H6SOHO1.027.05243.470.02642003/04/30
C/2003 H7SOHO1.027.9242.660.02662003/04/30
C/2003 K3SOHO1.039.52979.0760.139182003/06/01
C/2003 Q1SOHO1.029.3343.430.0322003/08/20
C/2003 Q6SOHO1.025.4356.30.03662003/08/26
C/2003 R4SOHO1.092.36173.060.03162003/09/06
C/2003 S9SOHO1.028.7959.320.01542003/09/25
C/2004 Y10SOHO1.0131.61129.680.03222004/12/28
C/2005 C4SOHO1.040.067.790.03912005/02/13
C/2005 D1SOHO1.0121.76284.060.04682005/02/23
C/2007 C12SOHO1.0122.22285.890.04082007/02/09
C/2005 H7SOHO1.073.07354.660.01272005/04/25
C/2005 M3SOHO1.088.99140.980.03552005/06/19
C/2005 Q3SOHO1.043.5270.890.02532005/08/30
C/2005 Q6SOHO1.050.4156.590.03872005/08/19
C/2005 V8SOHO1.075.64341.920.02662005/11/09
C/2006 K5SOHO1.0117.6169.230.05122006/05/23
C/2007 A7SOHO1.0144.23284.70.01912007/01/10
C/2007 C7SOHO1.070.99309.40.01722007/02/02
C/2007 M8SOHO1.082.04288.260.04782007/06/25
C/2007 X1SOHO1.0129.2156.130.02722007/12/03
C/2008 C3SOHO1.0158.2430.070.03462008/02/03
C/2008 E7SOHO1.0143.2812.080.05482008/03/05
323P/SOHO SOHO0.981732.6105374.226.5322.20.047702008/05/31
P/2008 Y12SOHO0.97873.078225.423.35312.60.06542008/12/22
P/2015 D1SOHO0.99434.91169.9295.880.028322015/02/19