gabbagabbahey said:Are you told the period of Haley's orbit?
The eccentricity of Halley's comet is approximately 0.96714. This means that its orbit around the sun is highly elliptical, with a distance between its closest point (perihelion) and farthest point (aphelion) varying significantly.
Halley's comet has an orbital period of approximately 75-76 years. This means that it passes by Earth once every 75-76 years.
The last sighting of Halley's comet was in 1986. It is expected to return in 2061.
The long orbital period of Halley's comet is due to its highly eccentric orbit. As it travels away from the sun, it experiences a gravitational pull from the outer planets, which slows down its speed. This causes it to take longer to complete one orbit around the sun.
No, there are many other comets with highly eccentric orbits. However, Halley's comet is one of the most well-known due to its regular return to the inner solar system and its appearance in recorded history dating back to ancient times.