What do most people say for “Name a comet”?

The usual first answers are Halley's Comet, Hale Bopp and Shoemaker Levy 9. In Icillion they are worth 10 points each, the least of any level.

How many answers are there to “Name a comet”?

22 in all: 3 on The Tip, 4 Below the Surface, 5 in The Deep, 9 in The Abyss, and a single legendary answer Below the Iceberg.

Which answers to “Name a comet” are the shortest and the longest?

The shortest accepted answer is “ISON” and the longest is “Churyumov Gerasimenko”.

Science trivia

Name a comet

“Name a comet” is one of 31 science prompts in Icillion. Of its 22 accepted answers, 3 are the ones nearly everyone says first; the rest sink deeper the rarer they are.

The tip of the iceberg

Right, but shallow: 3 answers nearly everyone thinks of, worth 10 points each.

Halley's Comet
Hale Bopp
Shoemaker Levy 9

One step down

These 4 are known, but not the first thing people say. 25 points each:

NEOWISE
Hyakutake
Encke
ISON

Answers by level

Level	Accepted answers	Points
The Tip	3	10
Below the Surface	4	25
The Deep	5	50
The Abyss	9	85
Below the Iceberg	1	100

The Deep holds 5 answers starting with B, C, S, T and W. The Abyss has 9 more, and one legendary answer waits below them all.

By the numbers

22 answers in total, 11 of them longer than one word.
Shortest: “ISON”. Longest: “Churyumov Gerasimenko”.
H, S and W are the most common first letters; together they start 45% of the answers.
2 answers can be typed more than one way: “67P” counts as Churyumov Gerasimenko.

Tips for a rarer answer

Start with H: 4 of the answers begin with it.
Halley's Comet, Hale Bopp and Shoemaker Levy 9 are safe but shallow. Aim past them.
For people, think of the scientists behind a law or a unit you already know.

Play science trivia now See all 22 answers A–Z