Observation and Origin of Halley's Comet (Essay Sample)

Halley's Comet
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Halley's Comet
Introduction
The cosmos is characterized by different heavenly bodies that are situated in vast extraterrestrial space. Many objects could catch our interest as it appears to be appealing from Earth's view. Planets, stars, moon, and sun are the major things most people know about the universe. However, what fascinates me among the multiple objects is the comets, particularly Halley's comet.
People find it interesting how a composition of rock, dust, and ice can be so appealing once it passes near the Earth. Unlike asteroids made up of rocky and metal materials, the comets are made of ice that vaporizes and melt when it approaches the sun. On the other hand, asteroids will continue to maintain their original form as they approach the sun with no particular changes on its compound.
History
              Halley's comet is indeed the most famous and was known for its periodic return to the vicinity of planet Earth every 75 years. It was said how possible for a human to see it only twice in a lifetime.
           The comet was named after Edmond Halley, who examined some reports regarding a comet that approaches the Earth. Three comets from 1531, 1607, and 1682 were concluded by Halley as the same comet that keeps on returning and leads to his prediction that it will visit again in 1758. However, since it is 75 years of the interval that must be awaited, Halley did not get the chance to see its return, but his efforts were not in vain as it was discovered that some comets orbit the sun, later on, Halley's comet was named after him. Even it is not possible for the comet to be studied closely for many decades, experts still conduct exploration to discover other smaller bodies or comets that may behave the same as Halley's comet 1.
           According to the European Space Agency, the comet's first appearance is in 239 B.C where Chinese astronomers documented its first passage. Another conclusion based on studies that the first observation could be 466 B.C and was visible to Ancient Greeks. It was also said that the comet's appearance inspired an Italian painter in 1301. These documentations were usually written as ancient people connect comet appearance to the disaster that one must be prepared for 2,3.
Known Characteristics and Features
           The comet has been famous for its periodic return in the Earth's vicinity. The last time it was seen in 1986 and was expected to return in 2061. Even though it is 75 years before it can be seen again, it is a short-term comet because it is less than 200 years to orbit. And during its return in 1986, explorers were able to study it using a spacecraft.
The comet was 9 miles long and was believed to originate in the Oort Cloud. Its orbit was known as elliptical because of the shape of its forms when it was seen. There are some points that it became as far away from the sun during its orbit, just like Pluto and as close as the planet Venus. This was also believed as the Star of Bethlehem seen by the Wise Men when Jesus was born in line with the Christian beliefs. Initially, it was thought that this comet will have a life that has been estimated as 10 million years but studies shows that it lost over 80% to 90% of its original mass for the thousands of orbits it completed, therefore, estimation of its life span has changed where experts assume they it will completely evaporate within few hundred thousands 4.
American writer Mark Twain also predicted his death once the comet returned because he was born on the day where the comet has been cited near Earth in the year 1835.
Unanswered Questions
Even the comment has been seen multiple times already with documentation from different experts that observed and studied previous seeing of Halley's comet, there is still some question that is not unraveled.
           Comets are one of the most exciting discoveries associated with astronomy, but humanity cannot fully understand its nature, for what we can do is only observe it from afar.
           One of the questions is how it was able to stay in its course for a long period as it revolves around the sun. There has been a discussion that it is possible to have a strong gravitational pull from another galaxy that may attract the comet to be away from its course.
           Another question is how it could not turn into gas as there was some point where it was near the sun that will cause its particles to turn into gas since the comet is made up of ice, dust, and rock that could be easily sublimated when it has close or direct contact with the sun, which is a huge source of heat.
           Lastly, if the comet was from the Oort cloud, a trans-Neptunian region, why are no other sightings or recordings of any major comets with the same behavior as Halley's comet?
           Answers to these questions have not yet been known to humankind. Though continuous discoveries about the cosmos have been explored throughout the years, we cannot fully grasp the whole component of the universe and galaxies as