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How often does the comet appear and why does it appear when it does?

In: Comets [Edit categories]

Answer:

All comets (there are over 3,500 known) have different time-scales for their appearances.
These depend on the length of their orbits - some comets have extremely large orbits which take them from being 'close' to the earth to almost going out of our solar system.
They appear because they come close enough to the Earth to be seen, and then they may take anything from a few years to hundreds of thousands of years beore they come back.

The best-known comet is Halley's Comet which has a period of between 75 and 76 years between appearances.

First answer by Maxiogee. Last edit by Maxiogee. Contributor trust: 678 [recommend contributor ]. Question popularity: 1 [recommend question].

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Relevant answers:

How often does hayles comet appear?
it appers every 2010 years. I'm in 5th grade if you don't believe me check it out.
How often does Hailey's Comet appear?
in every 75 earth years
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How often does a comet appear and why then?
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