Comet

Nearly every solar system has comets. Bodies originating in the farthest reaches of the system, or sometimes outside of it, comets sometimes swing by the sun or suns, causing them to warm up and producing a sort of atmosphere around it. Sometimes passing the sun/s results in the formation of a tail or tails (dust and gas, most commonly). On Mudewei, thanks to keen Stenza vision, many of these tails can be seen unaided.
The star system to which Mudewei belongs averages about three or four comets per year, although one or two per year are visible at all from a northern Mudeweian perspective. (The frequency is due to the galactic tide, which is known to be something of an erratic mess.) Some comets are bright enough to be noticed by casual observers, and many more are tracked by career astronomers both on the ground and operating in the vast network of space stations devoted to monitoring such things. Additionally, given as comets live in the firmament, they also have deep religious significance. The exact meanings are only known to Religious Experts, but they have inspired a range of reactions from awe to panic. There is some speculation that where the comet passes through the sky denotes the meaning of the message, but confirmation has been hard to obtain one way or the other.
It is fairly common for comets which were spotted in pre- and early history to be found again by base workers, confirmed and tracked via orbital calculations. In this way many "lost" or "one-off" comets have been found, although it appears some have flown out of the star system never to return.

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