Was there a comet the year you were born?
Great comets — the kind you can see from a backyard — turn up every ten years or so, with long gaps in between.
If you were born in 1996 or 1997, you had two. If you were born in 2020, NEOWISE was in the sky that summer.
Most years had none. That’s part of what makes the years that did feel special.
How to see the sky the night a comet was out
Every comet above has a link that opens our Sky on Any Date map on one of its best nights. The comet is drawn with its tail, among the real stars of that night.
The map opens over a sample city. Type your own town to see where it sat in your sky.
Comets usually hang low, close to where the Sun has just set or is about to rise. If yours isn’t on the map, move the time an hour or two.
Why comets aren’t on the posters
Our star map posters show the stars, planets, constellations and Milky Way exactly as they were. A comet’s position we can work out closely, but not how long or bright its tail looked that night.
So comets live on the free maps, where a best guess is fine, and stay off the prints, where it isn’t.
How we know where each comet was
Each comet’s path comes from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. We checked our positions against NASA’s own tables and they agree to within a sixtieth of a degree.
The dates each comet was visible come from the people who watched them.
When is the next great comet?
Nobody knows. Most great comets are found only months before they arrive.
- Halley’s Comet is the one we can plan for: it returns in 2061.
- For what’s up tonight, the Sky Tonight map will show a bright comet whenever there is one.
FAQ
Was there a comet in 1997?
Yes — Hale-Bopp, one of the most-watched comets ever. It was visible without a telescope from mid-1996 to late 1997, and brightest around April 1, 1997.
Hyakutake came the spring before, in March 1996, so the mid-90s had two.
When will Halley's Comet come back?
In 2061. It last came past in 1986, when it was faint and low for most of the world.
It comes round about every 76 years, so most people get one chance at it.
Where is Hale-Bopp now?
Far beyond the planets, still heading away from the Sun. It takes about 2,500 years to go round once, so nobody alive will see it again.
What was the comet in 1811?
The Great Comet of 1811. It was visible for about 260 days and brightest in October 1811, and it was still in the sky when the New Madrid earthquakes began on December 16.
Its next visit is roughly 3,000 years away.
Will the comet be on my star map poster?
No. Comets appear on our free sky maps so you can see where one was, but the posters show the stars, planets, constellations and Milky Way only.
A comet’s tail and brightness can’t be drawn with the same accuracy as the stars, and a poster should be exact.
