Short-period comets are believed to originate in the Kuiper belt, whereas long-period comets, such as Hale–Bopp, are believed to originate in the Oort cloud.
Prvi odkriti Kentaver, 2060 Hiron, je bil klasificiran kot komet (95P), ker je takrat razvil komo, kot jih razvijejo kometi, ko se približujejo Soncu.