Encke's comet

American  

[eng-kuhz, -keez] / ˈɛŋ kəz, -kiz /

noun

1. a comet, discovered by J.L. Pons, with a period of 3.3 years, the shortest period known.

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Etymology

Origin of Encke's comet

Named after Johann F. Encke (1791–1865), German astronomer

Example Sentences

Some, like Encke's comet, which makes a pass around the sun every 3.3 years, have relatively small orbits.

From Time Magazine Archive

Encke's comet revolves round the sun in 1,211 days.

From The Plurality of Worlds by Hitchcock, Edward

They have minutely studied the observations down to 1891, but only to confirm the reality of this diminution in the periodic time of Encke's comet.

From The Story of the Heavens by Ball, Robert S. (Robert Stawell), Sir

One of the smallest comets and the briefest in its period round the sun is known as Encke's comet.

From Astronomy: The Science of the Heavenly Bodies by Todd, David Peck

Even admitting no other kind of opposition than that dubiously supposed to have affected Encke's comet, the result in shortening the period ought to be of the most marked kind.

From A Popular History of Astronomy During the Nineteenth Century Fourth Edition by Clerke, Agnes M. (Agnes Mary)