How do comets travel in our solar system?

   Comets orbit the Sun on elliptical paths. (Since they orbit the Sun, they are members of the solar system.) Early astronomers believed that a second group of comets also exist, those that appeared only once and have parabolic paths. Further study showed that all comets follow elliptical paths, but that some paths are so elongated, even taking millions of years to complete, that they appear to be parabolic.