Why does Halley's comet travel regularly?

Answer 1

76 years is how long Halley's Comet takes to swing round the Sun.

Halley's Comet orbits the sun in an elliptical path, meaning it follows an oval-shaped orbit rather than a circular path. The reason why we only see it every 76 years is probably because it follows a very long path. Also, for the majority of its trip, Halley's Comet is nowhere new the sun meaning that we wouldn't be able to see it anyway.

Did you know that the last time Halley's Comet was seen was october 1996

For more information check out what NASA has to say in the related links below:

Answer 2

Gravity!

Well, actually Halley's Comet does not "return" every 76 years; it's still there, falling through space, following its orbital path. Right now, it is just beyond the orbit of Neptune, slowing down as it reaches the most distant point in its orbit, frozen solid, and invisible to us. Halley's Comet will reach its maximum distance at the end of 2023, and begin its long slow fall back into the inner solar system. It probably won't be visible even in the unimaginably powerful telescopes of 40 years hence until 2055 or so and won't be visible to the naked eye until at least 2060.

Answer 3

Halley's Comet is a small body in a closed, eccentric, elliptical orbit around the sun. It's orbital

period is approximately 76 years, but since the comet's mass is so small, the planets are able

to distort its orbit, and the period is subject to some variation.

Halley's Comet is not fundamentally so different from any of the major members of the solar system,

except that its mass is smaller and its orbit is more eccentric. The long orbital period of 76 years is

nothing to be amazed at either ... among the major bodies, the planet Neptune takes 165 years to

complete a single orbital revolution, and Pluto takes 248 years.

Answer 4

Gravity, of course. Halley's Comet is a short-period comet, never getting much further from the Sun than the planet Neptune. It revisits the inner solar system every 76 years. It's just a snow-covered rock, falling through space. The Sun's gravity ensures that it can't escape.

Answer 5

It is the cycle that it orbits the earth in every 75-76 years

Answer 6

That's just the way it is with celestial mechanics. Something of that size, travelling at that speed will get that kind of trajectory.

Answer 7

Halley's comet has a set orbit that takes it through the orbit paths of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune covering millions of miles. This takes some time.

Answer 8

It has a long distance to travel, so it takes it a long time to orbit the sun. It is further from the Sun than Earth is, so it takes a longer time to orbit the sun.

Answer 9

1. It's on a schedule, like a tram.

2. It's falling through space under the influence of the gravity of the Sun.

Which one is true?