The [[word]] comet came to [[English]] by way of the [[Latin]] word cometes. This word, in turn, came from the [[Greek]] word κόμη, which means "hair of the head". The Greek scientist and philosopher [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotle Aristotle] first used the derived form of κόμη, κομήτης, to describe what he saw as "[[stars]] with hair." The [[astronomical]] [[symbol]] for comets is (☄), consisting of a small disc with three hairlike extensions. | The [[word]] comet came to [[English]] by way of the [[Latin]] word cometes. This word, in turn, came from the [[Greek]] word κόμη, which means "hair of the head". The Greek scientist and philosopher [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotle Aristotle] first used the derived form of κόμη, κομήτης, to describe what he saw as "[[stars]] with hair." The [[astronomical]] [[symbol]] for comets is (☄), consisting of a small disc with three hairlike extensions. |