BEST-SELLERS / Top 10 things you didn't know about comets

----------------------------------------------------------------- TOP 10 THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT COMETS ----------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The name derives from the Greek kometes (long-haired) 2 Roughly six new ones are discovered each year 3 130-plus comets have an orbit of less than 200 years 4 Encke's Comet takes 3.3 years to orbit the sun 5 The brightest of them all is Halley's Comet 6 Halley's Comet is depicted in the Bayeaux Tapestry 7 A maximum of three names is allowed for one comet 8 The tails of comets point away from the sun 9 Six spacecraft were sent to monitor comets in 1985/6 10 A comet consists of tails, hydrogen cloud, coma and nucleus ----------------------------------------------------------------- Chart from various sources -----------------------------------------------------------------