When you think about disappearing celestial bodies, the phrase “10 comets have” might not immediately pop into your mind, but trust us—these wandering iceballs have a knack for pulling a vanishing act. Comets go missing. Yes, we know that sounds weird. Comets are huge and have distinctive tails, so they tend to stand out. And it isn’t like they can be stolen by aliens, or something. Nevertheless, sometimes they just disappear.

Missing comets are a puzzle to astronomers. Most of the time, they suspect the comet broke apart or was flung out of our solar system when it got too close to a planet. Jupiter is very guilty of this. However, it’s not exactly easy to get a definitive answer. For all we know, the comet might even be around but could not be observed for certain reasons. Some comets have even disappeared, only to reappear and disappear again.

10 Comets have Vanished

10 Great Comet Of 1264

The Great Comet of 1264 appeared over the skies between July and October 1264. It was visible throughout the day but was most visible just before the Sun rose in the early mornings. It also arrived at a time when comets were viewed as bad omens.

At the time, people believed comets were sent by supernatural beings and could cause deaths, floods, and diseases. The superstition was reinforced when Pope Urban IV became ill around the time the comet first appeared. He died on October 3, 1264, the last day the comet was observed. People said the comet killed the pope.

A similarly bright comet mysteriously appeared in 1556 and was appropriately called the Great Comet of 1556. In 1778, astronomer Guy Pingre claimed the comets of 1264 and 1556 were the same one. He surmised that it returned every 292 years and predicted it would return again in 1848. The comet did not return.

If we were to go by Pingre’s calculations, the comet should return in 2140. However, there is no evidence that this will happen. This means this entry could contain two missing comets.

9 Biela’s Comet

Biela’s Comet was discovered by Jacques Leibax Montaigne on March 8, 1772. It was rediscovered by Jean‑Louis Pons in 1805 and Wilhelm von Biela in 1826. Pons did not realize the comet had been observed earlier, but Biela did when he determined it had the same orbit as the comets recorded by Montaigne and Pons.

Biela’s Comet returned in 1832, 1846, and 1852 before disappearing. It remains unclear whether it broke up or another celestial body altered its orbit. However, most astronomers believe it broke apart. Another known comet, Comet NEAT (207P/NEAT) was even suspected to be one of its fragments.

Author Mel Waskin claimed Biela’s Comet broke up. In his book, Mrs. O’Leary’s Comet: Cosmic Causes of the Great Chicago Fire, Waskin claimed Biela’s comet broke up into two smaller comets in 1845. Astronomers continued to track one piece, while the other later crashed into the Earth in 1871. He claimed the impact caused several fires, such as the Great Chicago Fire and the fires of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, and Manistee, Michigan, which all occurred on October 8, 1871.

8 Caesar’s Comet

The mysterious Caesar’s Comet is possibly the brightest comet ever. It appeared in 44 BC and was widely observed and recorded before disappearing. The comet is named after the famous Roman general and statesman Julius Caesar, who was assassinated on March 15 the same year.

Caesar’s Comet appeared in July, four months after Caesar’s death. The Romans were holding the Ludi Victoriae Caesaris games in honor of Caesar at the time the comet appeared. It was very bright and clearly visible during the day. And it remained visible for seven days before disappearing.

People claimed the comet was the soul of Julius Caesar. These assertions were not surprising, since Caesar himself used to claim he was a god. His family also claimed to be descendants of Aeneus, who supposedly founded Rome, and Venus, a goddess.

Nevertheless, 44 BC was the only time we ever saw Caesar’s Comet. It is suspected to be a non‑periodic comet, as in one that does not orbit the Sun. This means that it might never return again. Others think it could have broken into smaller parts.

7 Brorsen’s Comet

Brorsen’s Comet (aka 5D/Brorsen) was discovered by Theodor Brorsen on February 26, 1846. It remained visible until April 22, when it finally traveled too far to be observed. Johann Franz Encke claimed it returned every 3.44 years, but it was later agreed to be around 5.5 years.

Brorsen’s Comet was expected to return in September 1851, but it never did. However, it returned in March 1857, when it was rediscovered by Karl Christian Bruhns. Bruhns did not realize he had found the missing comet until it was established that his discovery was not a new comet but the previously lost Brorsen’s Comet.

The comet returned again in 1862 but was not observed. It showed up in 1868 and was spotted. Meanwhile, astronomers had already noticed that the comet always flew too close to Jupiter, which was altering its orbit. It was supposed to return in 1874 but appeared a year earlier because the gas giant shortened its orbit.

Brorsen’s Comet came back around in 1879, the last time it was ever seen. It was supposed to return in 1884, 1895, 1901, and other subsequent years but never did. Astronomers extensively searched for it in 1973, when it was expected to make another flyby. It was never found and remains missing.

6 Comet Lexell

Comet Lexell was 2.2 million kilometers from the Earth at its closest, making it the nearest any comet has ever come to our planet. It appeared in 1770 and was first observed by Charles Messier. However, it got its name after Anders Johan Lexell calculated its orbit and determined that it ended somewhere around Jupiter. He said the comet would return every five and a half years.

Comet Lexell was expected to return in 1776, but it never did. Nor did it show up ever again. Urbain Le Verrier determined the comet’s orbit had been altered when it strayed too close to Jupiter. Jupiter either increased its orbit, which means it could return sometime in the future, or flung it away from our solar system.

5 Great Daylight Comet Of 1910

In January 1910, as anxious skygazers awaited the arrival of the famous Halley’s Comet, another one suddenly appeared in the sky. This comet, which was aptly called the Great Daylight Comet of 1910, was so bright that it was clearly visible in the daytime sky. It was five times brighter than Venus.

Some miners in South Africa were believed to have first spotted the comet on January 12. The comet soon appeared over the US, where smart entrepreneurs organized “comet‑watching parties” to allow curious people observe it with a telescope. The comet remained visible until the first weeks of February and has not been seen ever since.

Interestingly, the appearance of the Great Daylight Comet of 1910 outshone Halley’s Comet, which arrived few months later. When Halley’s Comet returned in 1985–1986, some people who claimed to have seen it when it arrived in 1910 ended up describing Great Daylight Comet.

4 Mrkos

Comet Perrine‑Mrkos was discovered by Charles Dillon Perrine on December 9, 1896. Perrine did not realize he had found a new comet. He thought it was part of the lost Biela’s Comet, which was believed to have broken up. He calculated that the comet would return in 1903, but it was not observed.

It was spotted again in 1909 but not seen afterward for some time. Comet Perrine‑Mrkos was supposed to return in 1916, but its visibility would have been so poor that nobody bothered to look for it. It was expected to return again in 1922 and 1929 but was not seen in either year.

The comet was finally observed again on October 19, 1955, when it was spotted by Antonin Mrkos. Mrkos thought it was a new comet or part of the supposedly fragmented Biela’s Comet. However, Leland E. Cunningham deduced that it was neither a new comet nor part of Biela’s Comet. It was the lost comet earlier discovered by Perrine.

Astronomers noticed that the orbit of Comet Perrine‑Mrkos had been altered at the time it was rediscovered by Mrkos. This was because it often traveled close to Jupiter, which we’ve already fingered for flinging comets out of our solar system. Nevertheless, the comet was visible in the sky until February 1956.

Afterward, the comet was declared missing again until it reappeared in 1961 and 1968. It was declared missing yet again when it did not reappear in 1975.

3 Comet Boethin

Comet Boethin was discovered by Reverend Leo Boethin on January 4, 1975. Astronomers calculated its orbit and determined that it would return in 11 years. Their calculations proved correct when the comet showed up in January 1986, 11 years later. It was observed by several astronomers until March 1.

Comet Boethin was expected to return again in April 1997, but it never did. If it did, it was not observed. However, astronomers finally agreed it was missing when it did not return in December 2008.

NASA was so sure that the comet was coming that at one point, they planned to send their Deep Impact spacecraft to intercept it. NASA launched the spacecraft in 2005 and left it orbiting the Sun, expecting the arrival of Comet Boethin, which never showed up. It is suspected to have broken apart.

2 75D/Kohoutek

75D/Kohoutek was discovered by Lubos Kohoutek in February 1975. It is distinct from the more well‑known Comet Kohoutek. Astronomers determined that 75D/Kohoutek would not have been visible from Earth if Jupiter had not altered its orbit on July 28, 1972.

75D/Kohoutek was determined to return roughly every seven years. It appeared in 1988 but was declared missing when it did not return in 1994. It did not appear in 2000, 2007, or 2014, either. Astronomers will dump the missing label if the comet reappears in March 2021.

1 83D/Russell

83D/Russell (formerly 83P/Russel) was discovered by Kenneth S. Russell on June 16, 1979, and remained visible until August 14. M.P. Candy calculated its orbit and determined it would return every 7.43 years. Daniel W.E. Green countered this when he calculated that the comet to return in 6.13 years.

Green was right. 83D/Russell returned again in April 1985 and was first observed by J. Gibson on April 9. It was seen until June 17. Afterward, the comet strayed too close to Jupiter. The gravitational force of the planet altered its orbit, increasing its perihelion distance from 1.61 to 2.18 astronomical units.

At the time, astronomers predicted the alteration could render the comet missing. In fact, that was also the last time the comet was seen. The comet was expected to return in 1991 and 1998, but the conditions did not favor its observation. 2006 was expected to have better conditions, but 83D/Russell wasn’t seen, so it’s missing.

Comets have long captured humanity’s imagination, streaking across the night sky as dazzling, fleeting wonders. While modern astronomers can predict their returns, ancient peoples saw them as mysterious harbingers—usually of trouble. Below, we explore ten infamous earthly catastrophes that have been tied, fairly or not, to cometary appearances.

10 The Death Of Mark Twain

10 Disastrous Earthly Connections

Halley’s Comet, perhaps the most celebrated visitor of our solar system, swings past Earth roughly every 75 years. Its periodic nature was only recognized after Edmund Halley pieced together sightings from 1531, 1607 and 1682, predicting its 1758 return. Though Halley never lived to see that passage, the comet bore his name forever.

The comet re‑appeared in 1835, the very year famed author Samuel Clemens—better known as Mark Twain—was born. Twain famously foresaw his own fate, declaring, “I came in with Halley’s comet in 1835… I expect to go out with it.” True to his words, he passed away on April 21, 1910, just as Halley’s bright tail lit the night sky once more.

Twain’s quip captured the eerie coincidence: two unlikely, unexplainable phenomena entering and exiting the world together, as if the universe had scripted their shared destiny.

9 The Death Of Julius Caesar

In March of 44 BC, a conspiratorial cadre of Roman senators assassinated Julius Caesar, fearing his unchecked ambition. Four months later, Rome staged a lavish funeral festival, the Ludi Victoriae Caesaris, to honor the fallen leader.

During those solemn rites, a brilliant comet streaked across the heavens, lingering for a full week before vanishing. Ancient chroniclers recorded this celestial display, now known as the Great Comet of 44 BC, noting its unprecedented brilliance—so striking it was also observed in China.

The Romans interpreted the comet as a divine sign, believing it embodied Caesar’s soul ascending to the heavens. Modern calculations suggest the comet’s trajectory was altered by Earth’s gravity, ejecting it from the solar system, making a repeat sighting unlikely.

8 The Death Of Pope Urban IV

The year 1264 witnessed a dazzling visitor dubbed C/1264 N1, or the Great Comet of 1264. It shone brilliantly for four months, first appearing in July, and its luminous tail was already woven into the era’s superstitious tapestry—comets were widely regarded as ominous warnings.

Shortly after the comet’s arrival, Pope Urban IV fell ill. Historical accounts claim his health deteriorated rapidly, culminating in his death in October 1264—the very night the comet’s brilliance faded from view.

7 The Battle Of Hastings

On 14 October 1066, King Harold II’s forces clashed with William the Conqueror’s Norman army at the historic Battle of Hastings. The encounter proved decisive: Harold fell, and William claimed the English throne, reshaping the nation’s destiny.

Earlier that spring, Halley’s Comet blazed across the sky, appearing four times the size of Venus and shining at roughly a quarter of the Moon’s brilliance. English astrologers noted the comet, unsure whether it heralded triumph or tragedy. The battle’s outcome cemented the comet’s reputation as a bad omen for Harold.

Conversely, William, who also observed the comet while journeying through France, hailed it as “a wonderful sign from heaven,” interpreting it as divine endorsement of his conquest—an interpretation that proved eerily accurate.

6 The Great Earthquakes Of 1811

October 20 1811 brought a spectacular comet into close proximity with Earth. Though first spotted in March—an unexpected arrival—the bright visitor captured public attention across Europe and America.

Just two months later, on 16 December, a massive earthquake rattled the American Midwest and South, so powerful it briefly reversed the flow of the Mississippi River. The tremor’s timing spurred many to link the disaster to the comet, especially as the United States entered the War of 1812 against Britain.

Even Napoleon Bonaparte, who observed the comet from Europe, initially saw it as a favorable omen for his planned Russian campaign—only to later deem it a harbinger of defeat. Meanwhile, grape growers across Europe celebrated a bumper harvest, dubbing the vintage “Comet Wine” in tribute to the celestial visitor.

5 The Great Biblical Flood

In 1680, a luminous comet streaked across the heavens, later christened the Great Comet of 1680. Its appearance intrigued leading scientists of the era, including Sir Isaac Newton, who employed it to validate his nascent gravity theory. Edmund Halley also used observations of this comet to refine orbital calculations for dozens of other comets.

Mathematician William Whiston, a contemporary of Newton, proposed a bold hypothesis: the comet’s close flyby centuries earlier had thrust water from its tail onto Earth, while its gravitational pull forced subterranean water to erupt, together creating the cataclysmic deluge described in the Bible.

Whiston’s theory sought to reconcile scientific reasoning with religious narrative, a common pursuit among 17th‑century scholars eager to explain miracles through natural mechanisms.

4 536

The year AD 536 ushered in a sudden, severe cooling of the planet. Contemporary observers wrote that the Sun appeared diminished, as though cloaked by an eclipse, leading to unseasonal frosts even in midsummer.

Agricultural failure followed, triggering famine, mass migrations, disease, and ultimately the Justinian Plague (541‑542), which devastated the Byzantine Empire’s population.

While volcanic eruptions—particularly one in present‑day El Salvador—are a leading hypothesis for the abrupt temperature drop, geologist Dallas Abbott suggested a different culprit: fragments shed by Halley’s Comet during its 530 AD passage. She noted nickel and tin particles, alongside tropical microorganisms, embedded in Greenland ice cores dated to that period, implying cometary debris fell to Earth.

Although Abbott’s proposal remains controversial, it underscores that Halley’s Comet does shed material when traversing the inner solar system, and an unusually large ejection in 530 could have intersected Earth’s orbit over the ensuing decade.

Thus, the mystery of 536’s climate crisis may involve a celestial dusting, a comet‑induced veil, or volcanic ash—perhaps a blend of both.

3 The Spanish Conquest Of The Inca Empire

The sprawling Inca Empire, home to millions across the Andean highlands, faced an ominous sign before the Spanish arrived: a massive green comet blazing across the heavens. Inca ruler Huayna Capac interpreted this celestial warning—alongside a lightning‑struck palace—as foretells of impending downfall.

Prophecies also spoke of strangers with unfamiliar appearance who would topple the empire. Although the Spaniards initially withdrew, they returned later, bringing smallpox, which decimated the native population and paved the way for conquest.

2 The Great Chicago Fire

In October 1871, the Great Chicago Fire raged for three days, devouring roughly a third of the city’s structures. While Mrs. O’Leary and her cow were historically blamed, there is no concrete evidence linking them to the blaze.

Alternative theories emerged in the 1880s when Ignatius Donnelly posited that gases expelled from a comet’s tail fell to Earth, igniting sparks that ignited the inferno. Mel Waskin later echoed this idea in his 1985 book, citing eyewitness accounts of fireballs descending from the sky at the fire’s onset.

Supporting the comet hypothesis, the same October saw simultaneous conflagrations along Lake Michigan and in Peshtigo, Wisconsin—the deadliest wildfire in U.S. history—suggesting a broader atmospheric phenomenon rather than a single accidental spark.

1 Younger Dryas

The final retreat of the last Ice Age, around 17,500 years ago, gave way to a warming period that lasted until roughly 13,000 years ago. Suddenly, the climate plunged again for about two millennia—a cold snap known as the Younger Dryas—before warming resumed around 11,500 years ago.

Scientists remain divided over the cause, but one compelling hypothesis points to a comet impact. The proposed collision would have ignited massive wildfires, sending soot high into the atmosphere and blocking solar radiation, thereby cooling the planet.

Proponents cite platinum deposits in Greenland ice cores and impact markers in Pennsylvania as physical evidence of such an event. Additionally, a carving on a pillar at Gobekli Tepe in Turkey appears to depict a comet fragmenting in the sky, possibly memorializing the same catastrophe.

Although the impact theory is still debated, the Younger Dryas remains a striking example of how a celestial visitor might have reshaped Earth’s climate.

Dirty snowballs. That nickname fits the icy cores of comets, but it doesn’t capture their sheer madness. These celestial wanderers have been known to spew alcohol, smash each other into oblivion, and even outsize our Sun. Occasionally they brush past Earth, and twice a year our planet sails through the ghostly remnants of Halley’s comet, creating spectacular sky shows. Yet not every encounter is friendly—one comet vaporized a whole village, and others have unleashed catastrophes far beyond what humanity can currently handle.

10 A Pre‑Solar System Comet Landed On Earth

Scientists adore meteorites because their chemistry tells the story of our solar system’s birth. When researchers examined a meteorite recovered from Antarctica, they expected the usual mineral mix—but stumbled upon something extraordinary: an embedded comet fragment.

This tiny speck predates the mountains and even the solar system itself. Born from the same primordial dust disk that later coalesced into planets, the comet drifted along the outer rim of that disk before being tugged inward, where it collided with the meteorite.

The impact shattered the comet, yet a fragment fused with the meteorite’s matrix. The rock shielded this piece through billions of years and the fiery entry into Earth’s atmosphere. Because the comet’s original chemistry remained untouched, scientists were granted a pristine glimpse into the materials swirling in space before the Sun and planets ever existed.

9 We Pass Through Halley’s Comet Every Year

Unless you’re a fanatic of dirty snowballs, you might think Halley’s comet only shows up once every 76 years. That’s true for the bright nucleus itself—the last sighting was in 1986, and the next won’t be until 2062. However, Earth sails through the comet’s dusty trail twice each year, gifting us a dazzling meteor display.

From roughly April 19 to May 28, our planet intersects the cloud of debris left by Halley, sparking the Eta Aquariid meteor shower. The peak around May 6 can deliver up to 40 meteors per hour blazing across the sky. Later, in October, we again cut through another segment of the trail, this time igniting the Orionid shower, another spectacular celestial fireworks show.

8 Missing Lander Found Wedged Inside A Comet

Every space mission gathers its own fanbase, and the Philae lander earned a particularly devoted following thanks to its daring goal of touching down on a comet’s surface.

In 2014, Philae rode aboard the Rosetta probe to comet 67P/Churyumov‑Gerasimenko. Upon deployment, the lander bounced and spent a harrowing seven‑hour tumble before settling in a shadowed crevice that blocked its solar panels, forcing it into hibernation after just 57 hours of activity.

Six months later, as the comet approached the Sun, Philae briefly revived, sending a single message back before going silent again. Nearly two years after its historic touchdown and subsequent disappearance, Rosetta finally located the upside‑down lander lodged in a crack, looking like a dead roach with its legs jutting out. ESA officials said finding Philae delivered “huge emotional closure” to its worldwide fans.

7 The Sudbury Basin Mystery Solved

Canada boasts the world’s second‑largest impact scar. About 1.8 billion years ago, a massive projectile slammed into what would become Ontario, carving the oval‑shaped Sudbury Basin, which measures roughly 60 × 30 km (37 × 18 mi).

Decades of research produced countless papers, yet the mystery lingered until scientists examined the basin’s rock chemistry. They focused on siderophile (iron‑loving) elements, which normally sink toward Earth’s core. Finding these elements in abundance at the surface signals an extraterrestrial delivery.

Since asteroids typically bring higher concentrations of such elements than comets, the chemical fingerprint pointed to a cometary impact. The event would have excavated a crater far larger than today’s basin—estimated at about 150 km (93 mi) across—later eroded down to its current dimensions.

6 This Comet Spews Booze

When astronomers first cataloged comet C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy), it seemed like any other dusty snowball with a glowing tail. Yet a year later, as it swung close to the Sun in 2015, the comet surprised everyone by disgorging ethyl alcohol.

During its most vigorous outburst, Lovejoy expelled the equivalent of 500 bottles of wine every second—a truly tipsy comet. Alongside the alcohol, the comet released sugars and 19 distinct organic molecules, ingredients that, under the right conditions, can combine to form amino acids, the building blocks of DNA.

This boozy display bolsters the hypothesis that comets may have seeded early Earth with the essential organic chemistry needed for life to emerge.

5 The Dinosaur‑Killing Comet

When scientists uncovered a massive crater in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, they initially blamed an asteroid for the cataclysm that erased the non‑avian dinosaurs 65 million years ago, wiping out roughly 70 % of Earth’s species.

However, a growing contingent of researchers argue that the impactor was actually a comet. By analyzing the volume and composition of material ejected during the collision, they found that an asteroid could not account for the observed signatures. A smaller, faster‑moving comet fits the data better.

The debate now pits “Team Asteroid” against “Team Comet.” While asteroid supporters concede the impactor was moving faster than previously thought, they maintain it was still an asteroid. Comet advocates contend the crater’s characteristics match those produced by a long‑period comet—objects that orbit the Sun over centuries or millennia and travel at some of the highest velocities in the solar system.

4 A Comet Massacre

Astronomers once believed comets roamed space solo, but a 2012 discovery turned that notion on its head. Around the star Fomalhaut, a massive dust ring was observed, and researchers realized the ring’s persistence was due to an astonishing number of comets colliding within it.

The swarm consists of roughly 83 trillion comets, each about 1 km (½ mile) wide on average. Approximately 2,000 of these icy bodies crash into one another every single day, constantly replenishing the surrounding dust.

This relentless bombardment, aptly dubbed a “comet massacre,” gave scientists a rare window into how dense cometary populations can sustain and shape circumstellar debris disks.

3 A Comet Bigger Than The Sun

In 2007, comet 17P/Holmes briefly stole the spotlight from our own star. Normally a modest visitor, Holmes erupted in a spectacular outburst that caused its coma—the glowing atmosphere surrounding the nucleus—to swell far beyond the Sun’s diameter.

At the height of the event on November 9, the coma measured an astonishing 1.4 million km (≈ 869,900 mi), temporarily eclipsing the Sun’s own size. The comet’s solid nucleus remained tiny, about 3.6 km (2.2 mi) across, but the explosive release of dust and gas created a gargantuan shroud.

Scientists still debate the cause of this massive eruption. One theory suggests the nucleus fractured, spilling material into space and inflating the coma. Though the comet is now too distant for detailed observation, its brief outsize display delighted sky‑watchers worldwide.

2 A Comet That Defies Explanation

Comets were once defined simply: icy bodies that develop bright tails when the Sun’s heat vaporizes their frozen surfaces. In 2014, however, astronomers encountered an object that refused to fit that tidy definition.

C/2014 S3, nicknamed “SWAN,” exhibited an almost complete lack of water vapor—about a million times less than typical comets—and its composition resembled solid rock, making it appear more like an asteroid.

Yet the object’s surface didn’t show the thermal “cooking” that asteroids endure, and it reflected sunlight like a typical comet. Its orbit, however, matched those of long‑period comets, suggesting it may have originated in the Oort cloud. The scientific community remains divided: some propose it’s a genuine tailless comet, others see it as a hybrid or an asteroid masquerading as a comet. The mystery endures.

1 An Airburst Vaporized A Village

Roughly 12,800 years ago, a comet fragment detonated high in the atmosphere above what is now Syria, obliterating a settlement known today as Abu Hureyra.

Archaeologists initially identified damage at the site but missed the cosmic connection. Later studies revealed that a comet had broken apart, and one of its shards exploded mid‑air, producing an airburst that vaporized the village. The blast left behind nanodiamonds, melted glass, and carbon spheres—tiny markers of high‑energy impacts—embedded in the walls and even within preserved food remains, indicating residents were present during the catastrophe.

Prior to the disaster, the community comprised hunter‑gatherers. The airburst likely devastated their environment, forcing a dramatic shift toward agriculture. Survivors rebounded, eventually establishing a successful farming settlement in the aftermath.

top 10 crazy highlights

From ancient comet fragments locked inside meteorites to a drunken comet that could have seeded life, these ten outlandish comet moments showcase the wild, unpredictable nature of our solar system’s most eccentric travelers.