This led to the first prediction of a comet 's return , Halley 's Comet . Prior to the early 20th century , most comets were simply referred to by the year in which they appeared , sometimes with additional adjectives for particularly bright comets ; thus , the `` Great Comet of 1680 '' ( Kirch 's Comet ) , the `` Great September Comet of 1882 '' , and the `` Daylight Comet of 1910 '' ( `` Great January Comet of 1910 '' ) . After Edmund Halley demonstrated that the comets of 1531 , 1607 , and 1682 were the same body and successfully predicted its return in 1759 , that comet became known as Halley 's Comet .