Type I Comet
The Type I comet has a tail made of ion. This tail was created by the magnetic force from the solar magnetic wind surrounding the comet in space. This magnetic force pushes the ionic particles away from the comet nucleus and into a type of "tail" that stretches out behind the comet. This ionic tail commonly appears as a blue streak to the human eye.
Type II Comet
If the tail of a comet is made of dust, it is classified as Type II. The dust in this tail was created from radiation pressure from the sun. It can appear either as white or pink in color.
Short-Period Comet
Most astronomers believe that short-period comets originate in the scattered disc region, which consists of icy minor planets. These comets are also called "ecliptic comets" because they follow the ecliptic plane. The ecliptic plane is one of the planes in the Earth's orbit. However, it is called the "ecliptic" plane because the lunar eclipse can only occur when the moon crosses this particular plane. The short-period comets usually have orbits of up to 200 years. The two types of short-period comets are either the Jupiter-family comets or Halley-family comets. The Jupiter-family comets have an orbit which lasts for less than 20 years. The Halley-family comets are also called "intermediate-period comets" and they have an orbit lasting from 20 to 200 years. What this means is that the comet's celestial path can take them anywhere from less than 20 years to a maximum of 200 years to complete. While most short-period comets originate from the scattered disc region, the Halley-family comets likely originated from the Oort cloud. The best way to identify a short-period comet is to determine its orbit. If it follows the ecliptic plane, it is a short -period comet.
Long-Period Comet
Many astronomers believe that the long-period comets likely originate from the Oort cloud. These comets are also called "nearly isotropic comets." Comets are influenced by Jupiter, and astronomers measure this influence using the Tisserand parameter. If a comet with a Tisserand parameter measurement greater than 2 are called "nearly isotropic," meaning the comet has a fair distributed angle of orbit. These comets have orbits that can last for thousands of years. A stargazer can tell if a comet is a long-period comet by keeping track of how often it appears. If it appears only once, it is a long-period comet.
Single-apparition Comets
Single-apparition comets are similar to long-period comets because they both have a parabolic or slightly hyperbolic trajectory. However, unlike most comets, the single-apparition comets appear only once then they are knocked out of the solar system and into infinity after passing the sun. This happens because of gravitational effects from large planets changing the comet's orbit.