The comet that orbits the sun about every 76 years, named for Edmond Halley, who calculated its orbit.

It is the brightest and most conspicuous of the periodic comets and recorded sightings go back more than 2,000 years.

It travels around the sun in the opposite direction to that of the planets and its orbit is inclined at almost 20° to the main plane of the solar system and ranges between the orbits of Venus and Neptune.

Halley's comet is expected to reappear in 2061.