While
Jupiter-family comets are officially defined by 2
Jupiter < 3, they can also be loosely defined as any comet with a period of less than 20 years, a relatively low
inclination, and an orbit coinciding loosely with that of Jupiter. These comets are often patchily observed, as orbital interactions with the
planet often cause comets' orbits to become
perturbed, causing them to not be found at the expected position in the sky and subsequently lost. Additionally, their low cometary
albedos and frequent proximity to the
Sun compared to
Oort Cloud comets cause them to much more quickly become depleted of volatiles, making them comparatively
dimmer than comets with longer orbital periods.
Before 2000 2000s 2010s 2020s == List of unnumbered Chiron-type comets ==