Halley's Comet

See also: Halley's comet

English

Etymology

Circa 1758. Named for Edmond Halley, the English astronomer who first computed its orbit and established its periodicity. Halley predicted the return of the comet (then last seen in 1682) in 1705; when it did return in late 1758, it quickly acquired this name.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌhæliːz ˈkɒmɪt/, /ˌheɪliːz ˈkɒmɪt/

Proper noun

Halley's Comet

1. A very bright comet which can be seen from Earth every 75-76 years.
   • The Scots Magazine, Vol. XXI (April 1759), p. 208

     In the London papers of May 3 we have the following accounts […] It had a short broad tail in a direction opposite the sun ; as Dr Halley's comet ought to have ; being much foreshortened […]

Synonyms

• 1P/Halley (official IAU designation)
• Comet Halley
• Halley

Translations

comet

• Dutch: komeet Halley
• Estonian: Halley komeet
• Finnish: Halleyn komeetta
• French: comète de Halley f
• German: Halleyscher Komet m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Maori: Rongomai
• Navajo: Sǫʼ Bitseeʼ Nineezí
• Romanian: cometa Halley f
• Russian: коме́та Галле́я f (kométa Galléja)
• Spanish: cometa Halley m