Halley's comet

The common pronunciation for both the comet and the astronomer after whom it is named is [hal, -ee]. This is the pronunciation usually recommended by astronomers. However, several variant spellings of the name, including Hailey, Haley, and Hawley, were used interchangeably during the astronomer's own time, a period when spellings even of proper names were not yet fixed, and corresponding pronunciations have survived. The pronunciation [hey, -lee] in particular remains associated with Halley's comet ; it is less likely to be heard as a pronunciation of Edmund Halley .