Astronomical events known as comet storms involved numerous comets clustered together as they traversed space. These storms tended to occur in the vicinity of planets and posed a navigational threat to starships due to potential collisions.
Within a comet storm, a multitude of comets moved in roughly the same direction through space. The larger comets exhibited a core of opaque bluish-white, enveloped by a bluish cloud, and trailed a translucent tail composed of the same substance, resembling a hazy, milky gas. The refraction of light by particles within the storm imparted a similar light blue tint to the surrounding space. These larger comets could attain sizes comparable to a shuttle or even larger, while smaller icy fragments could be as small as an astromech droid. While comet storms traveled through space, they were often found near celestial bodies, such as planets and stars.
These storms presented a hazard to ships and those who traveled through space. The impact of comets could inflict substantial damage on lightly armored starships, such as the Confederacy of Independent System's Maxillipede shuttle. Although smaller icy comets might shatter or bounce harmlessly off, larger comets could breach ship hulls and shatter viewports.
When traveling through hyperspace, the proximity of a comet storm caused the normally blue hyperspace tunnel to shift to a reddish or pinkish hue. Furthermore, ship sensors could detect the presence of a comet storm before physical contact, affording the pilot the opportunity to disengage from hyperspace and avert a collision at lightspeed. Scanners were also capable of identifying and displaying the approximate size, shape, and location of icy comets within a storm.
During the period of the Clone Wars, the Galactic Republic's D-Squad encountered a comet storm in the vicinity of the planet Abafar, while in transit from a mission to steal a Separatist encryption module. After their Maxillipede shuttle sustained damage from the storm, the droids and Colonel Meebur Gascon crash landed on the planet's surface. They were then marooned within the desolate region known as the Void for a period of time, before ultimately finding shelter in the isolated city of Pons Ora.