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Science Diction: The Origin Of The Word 'Comet'
Fri, 12/17/2010 - 9:43am
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Although comets were sighted at least as early as 1000 B.C., Greek natural philosophers named them sometime around 500 B.C., using the Greek word kometes for "a head with long hair." Science historian Howard Markel discusses the word's origins and the study of comets through the centuries.