The 1910 approach, which came into naked-eye view around 10 April and came to perihelion on 20 April, was notable for several reasons: it was the first approach of which photographs exist, and the first for which spectroscopic data were obtained. Furthermore, the comet made a relatively close approach of 0.15 AU, making it a spectacular sight. Indeed, on 19 May, Earth actually passed through the tail of the comet. One of the substances discovered in the tail by spectroscopic analysis was the toxic gas cyanogen, which led astronomer Camille Flammarion to claim that, when Earth passed through the tail, the gas "would impregnate the atmosphere and possibly snuff out all life on the planet." His pronouncement led to panicked buying of gas masks and quack "anti-comet pills" and "anti-comet umbrellas" by the public.
1910
Halley's Comet
Halley's Comet | 1910
The 1910 approach, which came into naked-eye view around 10 April and came to perihelion on 20 April, was notable for several reasons: it was the first approach of which photographs exist, and the first for which spectroscopic data were obtained. It was the first approach of which photographs exist, and the first for which spectroscopic data were obtained. Furthermore, the comet made a relatively close approach of 0.15 AU, making it a spectacular sight. It made a relatively close approach of 0.15 AU, making it a spectacular sight. The 1910 approach, which came into naked-eye view around 10 April and came to perihelion on 20 April, was notable for several reasons: it was the first approach of which photographs exist, and the first for which spectroscopic data were obtained
who told the magi to follow the star
user
Matthew's account suggests that the Magi knew from the star that the "king of the Jews" had been born before they arrived in Jerusalem
assistant
who is this magi?
user
The Magi (often translated as "wise men"), but is more accurately astrologers.
assistant
who is this star?
user
Other writers highly suggest that the star was a comet. Halley's Comet was visible in 12 BC and another object, possibly a comet or nova, was seen by Chinese and Korean stargazers in about 5 BC
assistant
what is this aforesaid comet?
user
Halley's Comet or Comet Halley, officially designated 1P/Halley, is a short-period comet visible from Earth every 75–76 years.
assistant
why did this aforesaid star was born?
user
According to the Gospel of Matthew, the star was born to lead the Magi to the birth place of Jesus.
assistant
which prophecy needed to be fulfilled?
user
The Star of Bethlehem is traditionally linked to the Star Prophecy in the Book of Numbers: "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel, And batter the brow of Moab, And destroy all the sons of tumult."
assistant
what is the structure of this aforesaid book of numbers?
user
Most commentators divide Numbers into three sections based on locale (Mount Sinai, Kadesh-Barnea and the plains of Moab), linked by two travel sections; an alternative is to see it as structured around the two generations of those condemned to die in the wilderness and the new generation who will enter Canaan, making a theological distinction between the disobedience of the first generation and the obedience of the second.
assistant
did anyone translate it?
user
Sorry. I cannot find the answer based on the context.
assistant
where is this mount located?
user
In the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt
assistant
what is its religious significance?
user
The summit has a mosque that is still used by Muslims, and a Greek Orthodox chapel, constructed in 1934 on the ruins of a 16th-century church, that is not open to the public
assistant
what did this aforementioned comet do in 1910?
user
In reality, as other astronomers were quick to point out, the gas is so diffused that the world suffered no ill effects from the passage through the tail. The comet added to the unrest in China on the eve of the Xinhai Revolution that would end the last dynasty in 1911. As James Hutson, a missionary in Sichuan Province at the time, recorded, The people believe that it indicates calamity such as war, fire, pestilence, and a change of dynasty. In some places on certain days the doors were unopened for half a day, no water was carried and many did not even drink water as it was rumoured that pestilential vapour was being poured down upon the earth from the comet."
Halley's Comet | 1910
The 1910 approach, which came into naked-eye view around 10 April and came to perihelion on 20 April, was notable for several reasons: it was the first approach of which photographs exist, and the first for which spectroscopic data were obtained. Furthermore, the comet made a relatively close approach of 0.15 AU, making it a spectacular sight. Indeed, on 19 May, Earth actually passed through the tail of the comet. One of the substances discovered in the tail by spectroscopic analysis was the toxic gas cyanogen, which led astronomer Camille Flammarion to claim that, when Earth passed through the tail, the gas "would impregnate the atmosphere and possibly snuff out all life on the planet." His pronouncement led to panicked buying of gas masks and quack "anti-comet pills" and "anti-comet umbrellas" by the public.
Halley's Comet | 1910
The year 1910 saw considerable media interest in the predicted return of Halley's Comet, which reached perihelion on April 20. The appearance of the Daylight Comet several months earlier therefore came as something of a surprise, and made an extremely strong impression on an expectant public; when Halley's Comet returned again in 1986, many older people's accounts of having seen it in 1910 clearly referred to the Daylight Comet instead. Owing to a "telephonic error", the comet was initially reported as being named Drake's Comet, though once the error was realised the press afterwards referred to it as the Daylight Comet or Sunset Comet, as no single individual was credited with its discovery.
Great January Comet of 1910 | Halley's Comet and the Daylight Comet
At Markree Observatory in Ireland, a E. J. Cooper used a Cauchoix of Paris lens telescope with an aperture of 13.3 (~34 cm) inches to sketch Halley's comet in 1835. The comet was also sketched by F.W. Bessel. Streams of vapour observed during the comet's 1835 apparition prompted astronomer Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel to propose that the jet forces of evaporating material could be great enough to significantly alter a comet's orbit. An interview in 1910, of someone who was a teenager at the time of the 1835 apparition had this to say:
Halley's Comet | 1835
Following perihelion, it declined in brightness but became a spectacular sight from the northern hemisphere in the evening twilight, its noticeably curved tail reaching up to 50 degrees by early February.
Great January Comet of 1910 | Discovery
By the end of 1912 it was recognised as a short period comet estimated to return in 7.1 years, later recalculated as 8 years. The 1919 return was recovered by Gaston Fayet (Paris, France) as magnitude 10.5. The 1927 approach was magnitude 12, but the comet was missed on the 1935 approach. In 1937 it passed close to Jupiter which increased its orbital period slightly. The comet was missed in 1968 and 1976. It was speculated that the increase in brightness in 1952 indicated a problem that led to it vanishing. In 1984, Elizabeth Roemer (Steward Observatory, Arizona, USA) found an image on photographs from 1976.
24P/Schaumasse | Observations
Graciano would be the first to correctly prove by precise calculation that neither the arrival of Halley's Comet or its tail would hit the earth extinguishing life. This was a tremendous concern of its day. His rigorous studies were so serious that he compiled his formulas in a booklet that had great resonance in the National Observatory of Paris.
Graciano Ricalde Gamboa | 1910
The orbit is inclined by 18° to the ecliptic, with much of it lying south of the ecliptic. (Because it is retrograde, the true inclination is 162°.) Owing to the retrograde orbit, it has one of the highest velocities relative to the Earth of any object in the Solar System. The 1910 passage was at a relative velocity of 70.56 km/s (157,838 mph or 254,016 km/h). Because its orbit comes close to Earth's in two places, Halley is associated with two meteor showers: the Eta Aquariids in early May, and the Orionids in late October. Halley is the parent body to the Orionids.
Halley's Comet | Orbit and origin
It faded rapidly, becoming visible only in telescopes and was last seen on February 17, 1912. The comet sported a tail 8 to 10 degrees in length. In mid-October, the comet was visible in the evening sky together with another bright comet, C/1911 O1 Brooks. Comet Beljawsky is a long-period (non-periodic) comet noteworthy for having a hyperbolic orbit and so it is not expected to return to the inner Solar System again.
C/1911 S3 | Introduction
163 years later, the Great Comet of 1843 appeared and also passed extremely close to the Sun. Despite orbital calculations showing that it had a period of several centuries, some astronomers wondered if it was a return of the 1680 comet. A bright comet seen in 1880 was found to be travelling on an almost identical orbit to that of 1843, as was the subsequent Great Comet of 1882. Some astronomers suggested that perhaps they were all one comet, whose orbital period was somehow being drastically shortened at each perihelion passage, perhaps by retardation by some dense material surrounding the Sun.
Kreutz sungrazer | Discovery and historical observations
The Great Comet of 1843 was first noticed in early February of that year, just over three weeks before its perihelion passage. By February 27 it was easily visible in the daytime sky, and observers described seeing a tail 2–3° long stretching away from the Sun before being lost in the glare of the sky. After its perihelion passage, it reappeared in the morning sky, and developed an extremely long tail. It extended about 45° across the sky on March 11 and was more than 2° wide; the tail was calculated to be more than 300 million kilometers (2 AU) long.
Kreutz sungrazer | Great Comet of 1843
On the following day, June 30, 1861, the comet made its closest approach to the Earth at a distance of . During the Earth close approach, the comet was estimated to be between magnitude 0 and −2 with a tail of over 90 angular degrees. As a result of forward scattering, C/1861 J1 even cast shadows at night (Schmidt 1863; Marcus 1997). During the night of June 30 – July 1, 1861, the famed comet observer J. F. Julius Schmidt watched in awe as the great comet C/1861 J1 cast shadows on the walls of the Athens Observatory. The comet may have interacted with the Earth in an almost unprecedented way.
C/1861 J1 | Introduction
1961 was again very difficult but Charles Kowal managed to relocate it in September, 1970. The 1995 appearance was more favourable and brightness reached a magnitude of 10. The comet wasn't observed during its 2004 or 2012 apparitions, and was thought to be potentially lost until it was successfully recovered in April 2020 at magnitude 12 by the Solar Wind Anisotropies (SWAN) camera on the Solar Heliospheric Observer (SOHO) spacecraft. Due to an outburst event the magnitude increased from 12 to 10 in late March 2020.
58P/Jackson–Neujmin | Introduction
In 1456, the year of Halley's next apparition, the Ottoman Empire invaded the Kingdom of Hungary, culminating in the Siege of Belgrade in July of that year. In a papal bull, Pope Callixtus III ordered special prayers be said for the city's protection. In 1470, the humanist scholar Bartolomeo Platina wrote in his "Lives of the Popes" that, A hairy and fiery star having then made its appearance for several days, the mathematicians declared that there would follow grievous pestilence, dearth and some great calamity. Calixtus, to avert the wrath of God, ordered supplications that if evils were impending for the human race He would turn all upon the Turks, the enemies of the Christian name.
Halley's Comet | 1456
Otto Wilhelm von Struve reported that the comet was visible to the naked eye at the end of November. It remained visible for smaller telescopes until 10 January 1844 and was finally lost to larger telescopes on 10 April 1844. In 1844, Thomas James Henderson computed that the comet was a short period comet; by May, its period had been calculated to be 7.43 years. Urbain Le Verrier computed the positions for the 1851 apparition, predicting perihelion in April 1851. The comet was found close to his predicted position on 28 November 1850 by James Challis.
4P/Faye | Introduction
In the year of 1910 (April–July), Chandra observed the Halley's Comet from Jessore with his small binocular as he did not have any powerful binocular or other helping tool. He wrote the details information of his observation in the 'Hindu Magazine' of that time.
Radha Gobinda Chandra | Observation of Halley's Comet
His announcement revived for another century fear of comets, now as direct threats to the world instead of signs of disasters. Spectroscopic analysis in 1910 found the toxic gas cyanogen in the tail of Halley's Comet, causing panicked buying of gas masks and quack "anti-comet pills" and "anti-comet umbrellas" by the public.
Comet | Fear of comets
Comet Beljawsky is also known as 1911 IV and 1911g according to the naming conventions at the time. The comet was discovered by the Russian astronomer Sergei Ivanovich Beljawsky September 29, 1911 and shortly thereafter it was independently seen by four or five other observers in the United States and probably by others throughout the world. At the time it was discovered, the comet was near to the Sun which made observations difficult. However, several days after discovery it was a naked eye object for a few days in the morning sky and later, after perihelion, as an evening object.
C/1911 S3 | Introduction
The comet was recovered on November 26, 1845, by Francesco de Vico. Initially a small, faint nebulosity, subsequent observations showed that something remarkable had happened to it. Matthew Fontaine Maury, observing on 14 January 1846, noted that an apparent companion was located 1 arc minute north of the comet. After this announcement many astronomers began observing the comet, and noted that the two elements (usually referred to as "Comet A" and "Comet B" in modern nomenclature) alternated in brightness, developing parallel tails as they approached perihelion. Some observations indicated an "archway of cometary matter" extending between the two nuclei, which might suggest that the comet had split into many more pieces than two, but were simply too faint to be observed individually.
Biela's Comet | Disintegration
First observed in early February, 1843, it raced toward an incredibly close perihelion of less than 830,000 km on February 27, 1843; at this time it was observed in broad daylight roughly a degree away from the Sun. It passed closest to Earth on March 6, 1843, and was at its greatest brilliance the following day; unfortunately for observers north of the equator, at its peak it was best visible from the Southern Hemisphere. It was last observed on April 19, 1843. At that time this comet had passed closer to the Sun than any other known object.
Great Comet of 1843 | Perihelion
In 1910 a spectroscopic analysis of Halley's Comet found cyanogen in the comet's tail, which led to public fear that the Earth would be poisoned as it passed through the tail. Because of the extremely diffuse nature of the tail, there was no effect when the planet passed through it.
Cyanogen | History
In the decades that followed, more refined mathematics would be worked on, notable by Paris Observatory; the work on Halley also provided a boost to Newton and Kepler's rules for celestial motions. (See also #Computation of orbit)
Halley's Comet | 1531–1759
Neither part could be found on their predicted periodic returns in 1859 (in any case an unfavourable return for viewing), 1865, and 1872. However, on November 27, 1872, a brilliant meteor shower (3,000 per hour) was observed radiating from the part of the sky where the comet had been predicted to cross in September 1872. This was the date when Earth intersected the comet's trajectory. These meteors became known as the Andromedids or "Bielids" and it seems apparent that they were produced by the breakup of the comet. The meteors were seen again on subsequent occasions for the rest of the 19th century, but have now faded away, probably due to gravitational disruption of the main filaments.
Biela's Comet | Disintegration
In November 1703, Halley was appointed Savilian Professor of Geometry at the University of Oxford, his theological enemies, John Tillotson and Bishop Stillingfleet having died, and received an honorary degree of doctor of laws in 1710. In 1705, applying historical astronomy methods, he published "", which stated his belief that the comet sightings of 1456, 1531, 1607, and 1682 were of the same comet, which he predicted would return in 1758. Halley did not live to witness the comet's return, but when it did, the comet became generally known as Halley's Comet. By 1706 Halley had learned Arabic and completed the translation started by Edward Bernard of Books V-VII of Apollonius's "Conics" from copies found at Leiden and the Bodleian Library at Oxford.
Edmond Halley | Life as an academic
The comet brightened rather suddenly, and was initially visible from the southern hemisphere only. A number of individuals claimed "discovery", but the comet is thought to have been first spotted by diamond miners in the Transvaal before dawn on January 12, 1910, by which time it was already a prominent naked-eye object of apparent magnitude −1. The first person to study the comet properly was Scottish astronomer Robert T. A. Innes at the Transvaal Observatory in Johannesburg on January 17, after having been alerted two days earlier by the editor of a Johannesburg newspaper. The comet reached perihelion on January 17 and was at that time visible in daylight with the unaided eye, having a magnitude of –5.
Great January Comet of 1910 | Discovery
The magnitude of the comet declined after 1926, and it was not until 1953 that it has been observed on every return.
15P/Finlay | Description
From May to August, the comet's position made it difficult to spot because of its low altitude and the evening twilight. Both Flaugergues and Olbers were able to recover it in Leo Minor during August, Olbers noting a small but distinct tail, consisting of two rays forming a parabola, when viewing through a comet seeker. By September, in Ursa Major, it was becoming a conspicuous object in the evening sky as it approached perihelion: William Herschel noted that a tail 25° long had developed by October 6. By January 1812, the comet's brightness had faded. Several astronomers continued to obtain telescopic observations for some months, the last being Vincent Wisniewski at Novocherkassk, who noted it as barely reaching an apparent magnitude of 11 by August 12.
Great Comet of 1811 | Observations
Confident that these three apparitions had been three appearances of the same comet, he predicted that it would appear again in 1758–9. Halley's predicted return date was later refined by a team of three French mathematicians: Alexis Clairaut, Joseph Lalande, and Nicole-Reine Lepaute, who predicted the date of the comet's 1759 perihelion to within one month's accuracy. When the comet returned as predicted, it became known as Halley's Comet (with the modern designation of 1P/Halley). It will next appear in 2061. In the 19th century, the Astronomical Observatory of Padova, was an epicenter in the observational study of comets. Led by Giovanni Santini (1787-1877) and followed by Giuseppe Lorenzoni (1843-1914), this observatory was devoted to classical astronomy, mainly to the new comets and planets orbit calculation, with the goal of compiling of a catalog of almost ten thousand stars.
Comet | Orbital studies
In 1066, the comet was seen in England and thought to be an omen: later that year Harold II of England died at the Battle of Hastings; it was a bad omen for Harold, but a good omen for the man who defeated him, William the Conqueror. The comet is represented on the Bayeux Tapestry and described in the tituli as a star. Surviving accounts from the period describe it as appearing to be four times the size of Venus and shining with a light equal to a quarter of that of the Moon. Halley came within 0.10 AU of Earth at that time.
Halley's Comet | 1066
If 1070 AD is accurate as the construction year, building the mound could theoretically have been influenced by two astronomical events: the light from the supernova that created the Crab Nebula in 1054, and the appearance of Halley's Comet in 1066. The supernova light would have been visible for two weeks after it first reached earth, even during the day. The Halley's Comet's tail has always appeared as a long, straight line and does not resemble the curves of the Serpent Mound. Halley's comet appears every 76 years. Numerous other supernovas may have occurred over the centuries that span the possible construction dates of the effigy.
Serpent Mound | Astronomical significance
The Great Comet of 1843, formally designated C/1843 D1 and 1843 I, was a long-period comet which became very bright in March 1843 (it is also known as the Great March Comet). It was discovered on February 5, 1843 and rapidly brightened to become a great comet. It was a member of the Kreutz Sungrazers, a family of comets resulting from the breakup of a parent comet (X/1106 C1) into multiple fragments in about 1106. These comets pass extremely close to the surface of the Sun—within a few solar radii—and often become very bright as a result.
Great Comet of 1843 | Introduction
This held the record for the longest measured cometary tail until 2000, when Comet Hyakutake's tail was found to stretch to some 550 million kilometers in length. The maximum apparent magnitude attained by this comet was -10. (The Earth–Sun distance—1 AU—is only 150 million kilometers.) The comet was very prominent throughout early March, before fading away to almost below naked eye visibility by the beginning of April. It was last detected on April 20. This comet apparently made a substantial impression on the public, inspiring in some a fear that judgement day was imminent.
Kreutz sungrazer | Great Comet of 1843
The 1145 apparition was recorded by the monk Eadwine. The 1986 apparition exhibited a fan tail similar to Eadwine's drawing. Some claim that Genghis Khan was inspired to turn his conquests toward Europe by the 1222 apparition. The 1301 apparition may have been seen by the artist Giotto di Bondone, who represented the Star of Bethlehem as a fire-colored comet in the Nativity section of his Arena Chapel cycle, completed in 1305. Its 1378 appearance is recorded in the "Annales Mediolanenses" as well as in East Asian sources.
Halley's Comet | 1145–1378
Comet Skjellerup–Maristany, formally designated C/1927 X1, 1927 IX, and 1927k, was a long-period comet which became very bright in 1927. This great comet was observable to the naked eye for about 32 days. It was independently discovered by amateur astronomers John Francis Skjellerup in Australia on November 28, 1927 and Edmundo Maristany in Argentina on December 6, 1927, and noted for its strong yellow appearance, caused by emission from sodium atoms. Forward scattering of light on December 15 and 16 of 1927 allowed the comet to be seen during daylight if the observer blocked the Sun. C/1927 X1 passed only 1.4° from the Sun on 1927-Dec-15.
Comet Skjellerup–Maristany | Introduction
The Soviet Vega 1 started returning images of Halley on 4 March 1986, and the first ever of its nucleus, and made its flyby on 6 March, followed by Vega 2 making its flyby on 9 March. On 14 March, the "Giotto" space probe, launched by the European Space Agency, made the closest pass of the comet's nucleus. There were also two Japanese probes, "Suisei" and "Sakigake". The probes were unofficially known as the Halley Armada.
Halley's Comet | 1986
The Great Comet of 1811 was thought to have had an exceptionally large coma, perhaps reaching over 1 million miles across—fifty percent larger than the Sun. The comet's nucleus was later estimated at 30–40 km in diameter. Before perihelion passage on September 12, 1811, the comet had an orbital period of 2742 years. After perihelion passage the comet has a period of 2974 years. In many ways the comet was quite similar to Comet Hale–Bopp: it became spectacular without passing particularly close to either the Earth or the Sun, but had an extremely large and active nucleus.
Great Comet of 1811 | Observations
On 12 February 1991, at a distance of from the Sun, Halley displayed an outburst that lasted for several months, releasing a cloud of dust across. The outburst likely started in December 1990, and then the comet brightened from magnitude 24.3 to magnitude 18.9. Halley was most recently observed in 2003 by three of the Very Large Telescopes at Paranal, Chile, when Halley's magnitude was 28.2. The telescopes observed Halley, at the faintest and farthest any comet has ever been imaged, in order to verify a method for finding very faint trans-Neptunian objects. Astronomers are now able to observe the comet at any point in its orbit.
Halley's Comet | After 1986
The Great Comet of 1106 AD was a gigantic comet noticed by observers from all over the world. On 2 February 1106 AD, a star was reported to have appeared next to the sun, about a degree from it. It seems to have diminished in brightness after this apparition, with a rather faint, unremarkable nucleus after perihelion, but its tail grew enormously and on February 7 Japanese observers said the extremely bright white tail stretched about 100 degrees across the night sky, which was also reported to have been branching into multiple tails. On February 9, it dimmed slightly, but its tail was still exceedingly bright, measuring 60 degrees long and 3 degrees across.
Kreutz sungrazer | Great Comet of 1106 AD
The comet passed within of Earth on 20 October 2010, only eight days before coming to perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) on 28 October 2010. From northern latitudes, during early November 2010, the comet was visible around midnight without interference from the Moon. Despite its current close passage by Earth's orbit, the comet is not yet a known source of meteor showers. However, that could change. Dust trails from the recent returns of 103P/Hartley 2 move in and out of Earth's orbit, and the 1979-dust trail is expected to hit in 2062 and 2068. After the 2010 perihelion passage, not accounting for nongravitational forces, Hartley 2 is estimated to come back to perihelion around 20 April 2017.
103P/Hartley | 2010 Earth approach
Advances were made in understanding sungrazing comets in the 19th century with the Great Comets of 1843, C/1880 C1, and 1882. C/1880 C1 and C/1843 D1 had very similar appearances and also resembled the Great Comet of 1106, therefore Daniel Kirkwood proposed that C/1880 C1 and C/1843 D1 were separate fragments of the same object. He also hypothesized that the parent body was a comet seen by Aristotle and Ephorus in 371 BC because there was a supposed claim that Ephorus witnessed the comet splitting after perihelion. Comet C/1882 R1 appeared only two years after the previously observed sungrazer so this convinced astronomers that these bright comets were not all the same object.
Sungrazing comet | 19th century
On July 14 the Christians gained a small advantage, and on the twenty-first and twenty-second the Turks were put to flight. In the same year Halley's comet appeared. In Italy it was first seen in June. Towards the end of the month it was still visible for three hours after sunset, causing great excitement everywhere by its extraordinary splendour. It naturally attracted the attention of astrologers as may appear from the long "judicium astrologicum" by Avogario, of Ferrara, dated June 17, 1467; it was found again by Celoria among the manuscripts of Paolo Toscanelli, who had copied it himself. The comet was seen till July 8.
Bartolomeo Platina | Halley's comet
Finlay noted that the comet disappeared from view very suddenly, and no trace of it could be seen against the Sun's surface.
Great Comet of 1882 | Perihelion
Over the next several returns to Earth, none were notable until the 1945 comet’s return when the comet peaked at magnitude 8.5. The increase in brightness was a result of Jupiter altering the comet’s orbit between the years of 1939 to 1945. This change in orbit brought the comet closer to the Sun. The 1951 return was unique due to the comet being 3 magnitudes fainter than what was expected when recovered in April 1951. But the comet still reached magnitude 10.5 in October 1951. A very close pass to Jupiter in 1954 increased the comet’s perihelion distance to 1.52 AU and increased the orbital period to 6.31 years.
22P/Kopff | Observations
The Great January Comet of 1910, formally designated C/1910 A1 and often referred to as the Daylight Comet, was a comet which appeared in January 1910. It was already visible to the naked eye when it was first noticed, and many people independently "discovered" the comet. At its brightest, it outshone the planet Venus, and was possibly the brightest comet of the 20th century.
Great January Comet of 1910 | Introduction
In 1963, Brian G. Marsden used a computer to link the 1844 and 1894 sightings and calculated a favourable return in 1965. The comet was subsequently recovered by Arnold Klemola (Yale-Columbia Southern Observatory, Argentina) on June 30, 1965, at magnitude 17. In 1968 the comet passed close to Jupiter which increased the perihelion distance and orbital period, the magnitude dropped and the comet was not observed for subsequent predictions, in 1995 it was again considered lost.
54P/de Vico–Swift–NEAT | Third discovery (1965)
Hence he concluded that a return to perihelion might be looked for about the middle of the 19th century, 1848 to 1850. This prediction failed, and as of 2009 no observed comet has matched the orbital elements of either comet. David A. Sargent writes that available evidence points to there being no connection between the comets of 1264 and 1556.
Great Comet of 1556 | Alleged connection to the Great Comet of 1264
He read the apparition as a cometary portent of doom foreshadowing the imminent fall of Sultan Zayn al-Abidin (AD 1418/1420–1470).
Halley's Comet | 1456
The astronomer Jérôme Eugène Coggia discovered this comet on 17 April 1874 at the Marseille Observatory. During the remainder of April and in May the comet was closely observed by many astronomers, including Winnecke in Straßburg, Tempel in Arcetri, Rayet in Paris, Schulhof in Vienna, Rümker in Hamburg, Schmidt in Athens, Bruhns in Leipzig, Christie in Greenwich and Dreyer in Copenhagen. In mid-May telescopes revealed the development of a faint tail. In early June the comet became visible to the naked eye and by the end of June its brightness reached magnitude 4. By the beginning of July the tail had grown to 6° and by the 16th of July to 45°.
C/1874 H1 | Discovery and observations
The most impressive observations of the comet come from the Japanese chronicle "Dainihonshi". The chronicle reported that on the 7th February 1106 AD the gigantic comet appeared in the southwest and stretched across a massive portion of the sky towards the east. The brilliant comet was described as white and with a tail stretching 100 degrees across the entire sky.
X/1106 C1 | Japan
Halley may have been recorded as early as 467 BC, but this is uncertain. A comet was recorded in ancient Greece between 468 and 466 BC; its timing, location, duration, and associated meteor shower all suggest it was Halley. According to Pliny the Elder, that same year a meteorite fell in the town of Aegospotami, in Thrace. He described it as brown in colour and the size of a wagon load. Chinese chroniclers also mention a comet in that year. The first certain appearance of Halley's Comet in the historical record is a description from 240 BC, in the Chinese chronicle "Records of the Grand Historian" or "Shiji", which describes a comet that appeared in the east and moved north.
Halley's Comet | Before 1066
Roger Rigollet (Lagny, France) rediscovered the comet on 1939-07-28; it was described as diffuse and with a magnitude of 8.0. The sighting was confirmed the next day by Alfonso Fresa of the Observatory of Turin (Italy) and George van Biesbroeck of the Yerkes Observatory. The comet steadily faded after August, final (photographic) observations being obtained on 1940-01-16. Following the 1939 rediscovery, the comet's orbit was calculated by Jens P. Möller (Copenhagen, Denmark), and Katherine P. Kaster and Thomas Bartlett (Berkeley, USA). A perihelion date of 1939-08-09 was indicated. Based on these early orbits, Leland E. Cunningham of the Harvard College Observatory suggested that the comet was likely identical with Herschel's comet of 1788.
35P/Herschel–Rigollet | 1939 apparition
It was described as brown in colour and the size of a wagon load; it was a local landmark for more than 500 years. A comet, tentatively identified as Halley's Comet, was reported at the time the meteorite landed. This is possibly the first European record of Halley's comet.
Aegospotami | Introduction
Hussey achieved some contemporary celebrity as being one of the first people in Britain (along with Sir James South) to see the return of Halley's Comet on 22 August 1835, communicating his subsequent observations with enthusiasm. At the time, Hussey was engaged in publishing a "Catalogue of Comets" in a series of papers for the "Philosophical Magazine".
Thomas John Hussey | Halley's Comet
When the first orbit calculations were made in 1886, there was a similarity between this orbit and that of Francesco de Vico's lost periodic comet of 1844 (54P/de Vico-Swift-NEAT). Lewis Boss (Dudley Observatory, Schenectady, United States) noted large discrepancies between the orbits and after further observations concluded that de Vico's comet could not be the same as Finlay's. During the 1906 apparition the comet brightened to magnitude 6. In 1910 a close pass with Jupiter increased the orbital period, in 1919 the path was off predictions and a new comet discovered by Sasaki (Kyoto Observatory, Japan) on October 25, 1919, was discovered to be Finlay's.
15P/Finlay | Description
X/1106 C1, also known as the Great Comet of 1106, was a great comet that appeared on 2 February 1106, and was observed across the world from the beginning of February through to mid-March. It was recorded by astronomers in Wales, England, Japan, Korea, China and Continental Europe. It was observed to split into many pieces, forming the Great Comet of 1882, Comet Ikeya–Seki, as well as over 4000 small sungrazing comets observed by the SOHO space telescope. It is a member of the Kreutz Group, known as Subfragment I, a split from an earlier large (~150 km) comet that progressively fragmented under influence of the Sun.
X/1106 C1 | Introduction
He likewise ordered, to move God by continual entreaty, that notice should be given by the bells to call the faithful at midday to aid by their prayers those engaged in battle with the Turk. Platina's account is not mentioned in official records. In the 18th century, a Frenchman further embellished the story, in anger at the Church, by claiming that the Pope had "excommunicated" the comet, though this story was most likely his own invention. Halley's apparition of 1456 was also witnessed in Kashmir and depicted in great detail by Śrīvara, a Sanskrit poet and biographer to the Sultans of Kashmir.
Halley's Comet | 1456
It was also observed in 1978, 1985, 1991-1992, and 1998-1999. The comet peaked at about apparent magnitude 16.3 in 2012. On 29 December 2077 the comet will pass from Mars.
60P/Tsuchinshan | Introduction
On 9 August 1988 the comet passed from Jupiter lifting perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) from 1.6 AU to 2.1 AU. This greater distance from the Sun makes the comet fainter, less active, and more difficult to recover. Its predicted appearance in 1991 was not observed due to unfavourable conditions and it was missed again in 1998. In 2006, although conditions were favourable, the comet was not relocated and hence it is now classified as lost.
83D/Russell | 1988
Some astronomers theorized that the comet might pass through a resisting medium near the Sun and that would shorten its period. When astronomers observed C/1882 R1, they measured the period before and after perihelion and saw no shortening in the period which disproved the theory. After perihelion this object was also seen to split into several fragments and therefore Kirkwood's theory of these comets coming from a parent body seemed like a good explanation. In an attempt to link the 1843 and 1880 comets to the comet in 1106 and 371 BC, Kreutz measured the fragments of the 1882 comet and determined that it was likely a fragment of the 1106 comet.
Sungrazing comet | 19th century
C/1911 O1 (Brooks), also designated 1911 V or Comet Brooks, was a bright comet discovered in July 1911 by astronomer William Robert Brooks. It is notable for becoming a bright naked-eye object of second magnitude, with a narrow straight tail of up to thirty degrees in length and a distinct blue colour; this colour seen in some comets is usually a result of the emission of carbon monoxide ions. It was also notable for uniquely being visible at the same time (mid October 1911) and in the same part of the sky as a second bright comet; this was C/1911 S3 (Beljawsky), which reached the first magnitude, had a fifteen degree tail and a bright golden-yellow appearance.
C/1911 O1 | Introduction
The Great Comet of 1843 developed an extremely long tail during and after its perihelion passage. At over two astronomical units in length, it was the longest known cometary tail until measurements in 1996 showed that Comet Hyakutake's tail was almost twice as long. There is a painting in the National Maritime Museum that was created by astronomer Charles Piazzi Smyth. The purpose of the painting is to show the overall brightness and size of the tail of the comet.
Great Comet of 1843 | Tail
A computer calculation of the past orbits of Halley using numerical integration could not continue past 837 AD because a very close approach to Earth made calculation of orbits prior to that too inaccurate. The researchers had started with accurate European measurements from 1759, 1682 and 1607 AD and calculated backwards. However, no accurate European records exist for 837 AD so the researchers looked to Chinese records. From these they obtained a good estimate of the perihelion of Halley for that year. They used that, together with perihelions found from Chinese data for 374 and 141 AD, to provide constraints for their calculation.
Historical comet observations in China | Halley's Comet
On the wall underneath the petroglyph there is a drawing which could be the core and tail of a comet. Apart from the petroglyph, which could represent the configuration of the moon and supernova on the morning of 5 July 1054, this period corresponds to the apogee of the Anasazi civilisation. It seems possible to propose an interpretation of the other petroglyph, which, if it is more recent than the other one, could possibly correspond to the passing of Halley's Comet in 1066. Although plausible, this interpretation is impossible to confirm and does not explain why it was the supernova of 1054 that was represented, rather than the supernova of 1006, which was brighter and also visible to this civilisation.
SN 1054 | Suggested records in North American petroglyphs
During October, its nucleus was seen to fragment into first two and then four pieces. Some observers also reported seeing diffuse patches of light several degrees away from the nucleus. The rate of separation of the fragments of the nucleus was such that they will return about a century apart, between 670 and 960 years after the break-up.
Kreutz sungrazer | Great Comet of 1882
Studies of the orbit of the comet showed that the Great Comet of 1882 was moving on an almost identical path to previous great comets seen in C/1843 D1 and C/1880 C1. These comets had also suddenly appeared in the morning sky and had passed extremely close to the Sun at perihelion. One suggestion was that all three were in fact the same comet, with an orbital period that was being drastically shortened at each perihelion passage. However, studies showed this to be untenable, as the orbital period of this comet is 772 ± 3 years and the others are 600–800 years.
Great Comet of 1882 | Orbital studies
Images showed Halley's nucleus to be a dark peanut-shaped body, 15 km long, 7 km to 10 km wide. Only 10% of the surface was active, with at least three outgassing jets seen on the sunlit side. Analysis showed the comet formed 4.5 billion years ago from volatiles (mainly ice) that had condensed onto interstellar dust particles. It had remained practically unaltered since its formation. Measured volume of material ejected by Halley: "Giotto" found Halley's nucleus was dark, which suggested a thick covering of dust.
Giotto (spacecraft) | Scientific results
Following the outbreak of the Russo-Turkish War in April 1877, "Comet", "Meteor", and "Pommerania" were concentrated in Constantinople for fear of resumed anti-European riots. Later that year, the Armored Squadron was recalled to Germany, followed by "Meteor", leaving just "Comet" and a handful of small vessels. "Comet" went to Mytilene on 29 December 1878, remaining there until February 1879, when she moved to Smyrna. During this period, she left for shooting practice in the Sea of Marmara and then a visit to the mouth of the Danube river in the Black Sea from late June to late July. On 3 September, after having returned to Constantinople, "Comet" was recalled to Germany, arriving in Kiel to be decommissioned on 8 November.
SMS Comet (1860) | 1868–1891
The comet brightened rapidly, and within days had become an exceptionally bright object. Her Majesty's Astronomer at the Cape, David Gill, reported watching the comet rise a few minutes before the Sun on 18 September, and described it as ""The nucleus was then undoubtedly single, and certainly rather under than over 4″ in diameter; in fact, as I have described it, it resembled very much a star of the 1st magnitude seen by daylight."" 4″ is 4/60 of a minute of arc, and a minute is 1/60 of a degree.
Great Comet of 1882 | Discovery
After its perihelion passage, the comet moved into dark skies, and although it faded as it receded from the Sun it remained one of the most prominent objects in the sky. On 30 September, observers, including Finlay and E. E. Barnard, began to notice that the comet's nucleus was elongated and broken into two pronounced bright balls of light, and by 17 October it was clear that it had broken into at least five fragments. Observers reported that the relative brightness of the fragments varied from day to day. In mid-October, the comet developed a notable antitail, pointing towards the Sun.
Great Comet of 1882 | Post-perihelion evolution
A day after perihelion its magnitude decreased to just −4. Japanese astronomers using a coronagraph saw the comet break into three pieces 30 minutes before perihelion. When the comet reappeared in the morning sky in early November, two of these nuclei were definitely detected with the third suspected. The comet developed a very prominent tail, about 25° in length, before fading throughout November. It was last detected in January 1966.
Kreutz sungrazer | Comet Ikeya–Seki
Chinese records indicate that, in 188, the comet reached apparent magnitude 0.1. Observation was also recorded in 69 BC, and it was probably visible to the naked eye in 322 BC. In the discovery year of 1862, the comet was as bright as Polaris. After the 1862 observations it was thought that the comet would return between 1979 and 1983, but it didn't show up. However, it had been suggested in 1902 that this was the same comet as that observed by Ignatius Kegler on July 3, 1737, and on this basis Brian Marsden calculated correctly that it would return in 1992.
Comet Swift–Tuttle | Historic observations
The brightness increase rate decreased and the estimated magnitude at perihelion was predicted as +3.5. Comet Halley would be magnitude −1.0 at the same perihelion distance. The same study concluded that C/2011 L4 is very young and belongs to the class of "baby comets" (i.e. those with a photometric age of less than 4 comet years). When C/2011 L4 reached perihelion in March 2013, the actual peak magnitude turned out to be around +1, as estimated by various observers all over the planet. However, its low altitude over the horizon made these estimates difficult and subject to significant uncertainties, both because of the lack of suitable reference stars in the area and the need for differential atmospheric extinction corrections.
C/2011 L4 | Observational history
Anti-tails are a fairly common cometary phenomenon, and result from orbital geometry giving the appearance of a tail pointing towards the Sun although material can only be driven away from the Sun. The nucleus reached its maximum apparent size in December 1882. The comet faded gradually, but despite its fragmentation it remained visible to the naked eye until February 1883. The last definite sighting of the comet was made by B. A. Gould at Córdoba on 1 June 1883.
Great Comet of 1882 | Post-perihelion evolution
Hale–Bopp became visible to the naked eye in May 1996, and although its rate of brightening slowed considerably during the latter half of that year, scientists were still cautiously optimistic that it would become very bright. It was too closely aligned with the Sun to be observable during December 1996, but when it reappeared in January 1997 it was already bright enough to be seen by anyone who looked for it, even from large cities with light-polluted skies. The Internet was a growing phenomenon at the time, and numerous websites that tracked the comet's progress and provided daily images from around the world became extremely popular.
Comet Hale–Bopp | Perihelion
The comet was rapidly approaching perihelion when it was first seen. At perihelion, the comet is estimated to have been only 300,000 miles or from the Sun's surface. Subsequent orbital studies have determined that it was a Sungrazing comet, one which passes extremely close to the surface of the Sun. For many hours on either side of its perihelion passage, the comet was easily visible in the daytime sky next to the Sun. It reached an estimated magnitude of −17. Shortly after perihelion was reached on 17 September, the comet transited the Sun. At the Cape, Finlay observed the comet with the aid of a neutral density filter right up until the moment of transit, when the Sun's limb was ""boiling all about it"".
Great Comet of 1882 | Perihelion
The names given to comets have followed several different conventions over the past two centuries. Prior to the early 20th century, most comets were simply referred to by the year when they appeared, sometimes with additional adjectives for particularly bright comets; thus, the "Great Comet of 1680", the "Great Comet of 1882", and the "Great January Comet of 1910". After Edmund Halley demonstrated that the comets of 1531, 1607, and 1682 were the same body and successfully predicted its return in 1759 by calculating its orbit, that comet became known as Halley's Comet. Similarly, the second and third known periodic comets, Encke's Comet and Biela's Comet, were named after the astronomers who calculated their orbits rather than their original discoverers.
Comet | Nomenclature
An excerpt from a Chinese manuscript describes the following report of a comet in 1106, mentioning the comet's breakup after perihelion, dated February 10: In the reign of Hwuy Tsung, the 5th year of the epoch of Tsung Ning, the 1st moon [February], day Woo Seuh (Feb. 10th), a comet appeared in the west. It was like a great Pei Kow. The luminous envelope was scattered. It appeared like a broken-up star. It was 60 [degrees] in length and was 3 [degrees] in breadth. Its direction was to the north-east. It passed S.D. Kwei (southern Andromeda/northern Pisces). It passed S.D.
X/1106 C1 | China
Jewitt and G. Edward Danielson on 16 October 1982 using the 5.1 m Hale telescope at Mount Palomar and a CCD camera. The first person to visually observe the comet on its 1986 return was amateur astronomer Stephen James O'Meara on 24 January 1985. O'Meara used a home-built 24-inch telescope on top of Mauna Kea to detect the magnitude 19.6 comet. On 8 November 1985, Stephen Edberg (then serving as the Coordinator for Amateur Observations at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory) and Charles Morris were the first to observe Halley's Comet with the naked eye in its 1986 apparition. Although Halley's Comet's retrograde orbit and high inclination make it difficult to send a space probe to it, the 1986 apparition gave scientists the opportunity to closely study the comet, and several probes were launched to do so.
Halley's Comet | 1986
11P/Tempel–Swift–LINEAR is a periodic Jupiter-family comet in the Solar System. Ernst Wilhelm Leberecht Tempel (Marseille) originally discovered the comet on November 27, 1869, it was later observed by Lewis Swift (Warner Observatory) on October 11, 1880, and realised to be the same comet. After 1908 the comet became an unobservable lost comet, but on December 7, 2001, an object was found by the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) program, and confirmed by previous images from September 10 and October 17 as being the same comet. The comet was not observed during the 2008 unfavorable apparition because the perihelion passage occurred when the comet was on the far side of the Sun.
11P/Tempel–Swift–LINEAR | Introduction
Additionally, based on a lack of meteor showers, they suggest that the comet may have ceased major activity before 1800 AD.
Lexell's Comet | 2018 recalculation
After the 2010 perihelion passage, the comet only had about an 80-day observation arc. The recovery of P/2010 V1 on December 31, 2015, at magnitude 20 was announced on January 2, 2016, and designated as P/2015 Y2. A secondary fragment (B) was confirmed and announced on January 5, 2016. The comet is now composed of component A and B with two different comas, envelopes and tails. Around January 11, 2016, two fainter potential fragments, designated P/2010 V1-C and P/2010 V1-D have been located, both likely having been fragmented from P/2010 V1-B. As of January 29, fragments B and D had nearly entirely disintegrated, and fragment C hade undergone an outburst, making it as bright as P/2010 V1-A.
332P/Ikeya–Murakami | Introduction
Estimates for the orbital period of the comet have varied from 512 ± 105 years (Kreutz's classical work from 1901), 654 ± 103 years (Chodas2008 unforced solution), 688 years (JPL Horizons barycentric epoch 1852 solution), and 742 years (Chodas2008 forced solution based on a presumed identity with X/1106 C1). But the comet was only observed over a period of 45 days from March 5 to April 19, and the uncertainties mean it likely has an orbital period of 600 to 800 years.
Great Comet of 1843 | Orbit
22P/Kopff was discovered at Königstuhl Observatory on Heidelberg, Germany. Kopff analyzed photographic plates which he exposed on August 20, 1903, against pre-discovery images of the same region. On August 23, 1903, Kopff concluded it to be a comet with an estimated apparent magnitude of 11. On mid-September 1906, the short-period nature of the comet was recognized by a team headed by Kiel Ebell of the Berkeley Astronomical Department. The comet was missed when it made a return on November 25, 1912, however on June 25, 1919, astronomers recovered the comet. The comet was located less than three days from the predicted position.
22P/Kopff | Observations
In 1852 the comet was again recovered more or less as predicted, with "Comet A" being recovered first, by Angelo Secchi on August 26. "Comet B" was finally relocated on September 16, and once again both nuclei alternated in brightness during the period of observation. "A" was last detected on this apparition on September 26 and "B" on September 29, in both cases by Otto Wilhelm Struve. Subsequent orbital calculations indicated that the nuclei had probably split around 500 days before the 1845 apparition, though more recent work has determined that it may have occurred near aphelion in late 1842.
Biela's Comet | Disintegration
On June 1 Tebbutt found the length of the tail to be 8° 38′. The comet was observed in the southern hemisphere from its discovery to June 11; it then became visible in the night sky of the northern hemisphere by June 22 as a spectacular object to the naked eye. On June 25 the tail's length was about 25° and the brightness of the nucleus was magnitude 1. The comet was still visible to the naked eye in August but by the end of the month the tail was not discernible. In the Alps at an altitude between 1000 and 2000 meters, Camille Flammarion observed the comet until the beginning of September.
C/1881 K1 | Observations
They were finally able to calculate the orbits of Halley back to 1404 BC.
Historical comet observations in China | Halley's Comet
The Great Comet of 1811 seems to have had a particular impact on non-astronomers. The artists John Linnell and William Blake both witnessed it, the former producing several sketches and the latter possibly incorporating it in his famous panel "The Ghost of a Flea". The English travel writer, novelist, and political economist Harriet Martineau (1802–1876) makes an odd reference to not seeing the comet in her "Autobiography": "When the great comet of 1811 was attracting all eyes...[n]ight after night, the whole family of us went up to the long windows at the top of my father's warehouse; and the exclamations on all hands about the comet perfectly exasperated me,—because I could not see it!...
Great Comet of 1811 | Allusions in culture
The Great Comet of 1882 formally designated C/1882 R1, 1882 II, and 1882b, was a comet which became very bright in September 1882. It was a member of the Kreutz Sungrazers, a family of comets which pass within of the Sun's photosphere at perihelion. The comet was bright enough to be visible next to the Sun in the daytime sky at its perihelion.
Great Comet of 1882 | Introduction
The next perihelion of Halley's Comet is 28 July 2061, when it will be better positioned for observation than during the 1985–1986 apparition, as it will be on the same side of the Sun as Earth. It is expected to have an apparent magnitude of −0.3, compared with only +2.1 for the 1986 apparition. It has been calculated that on 9 September 2060, Halley will pass within of Jupiter, and then on 20 August 2061 will pass within of Venus.
Halley's Comet | 2061
Using 160 observations over 43 days, Charles J. Merfield (1866–1931) could calculate only a parabolic orbit, inclined about 131° to the ecliptic. The comet travelled in a retrograde orbit relative to the planetary orbits. The comet was on April 10 about .56 AU from Venus and on April 21 about .19 AU from Mercury. On April 24 the comet reached perihelion at about .245 AU from the Sun. On April 30 the comet made its closest approach to planet Earth at about .83 AU.
Great Comet of 1901 | Orbit
Poe, writing this story in 1839, was capitalizing on the excitement in the 1830s caused by William Miller's predictions of the end of the world. He predicted in 1831 that the world would end in 1843. In the early 19th century, several comets were seen; in particular, Halley's Comet returned in 1835, and there was interest in Encke's Comet, whose periodicity had recently been calculated; it appeared in 1838, and its return was expected in 1842. All this aroused people's interest; comets were traditionally associated with prophesies of the end of the world. Donald Olson and Shaun B. Ford at Texas State University speculate that Lexell's Comet and Biela's Comet inspired the story.
The Conversation of Eiros and Charmion | Analysis
Edward D. Swift (Echo Mountain, California, USA) rediscovered the comet on November 21, 1894. Adolf Berberich suggested the comet might be the same as de Vico's comet on the basis of the comet's location and direction of motion. After 1894, the comet was considered lost again after the 1901 and 1907 returns remained unseen.
54P/de Vico–Swift–NEAT | Second discovery (1894)
For this comet there were observational data for over six months and thus for a significant part of the cometary orbit Bessel's calculated predictions could be compared to the observations. The great comet of 1807 is the first long-period comet (other than Halley's comet, which was already known to be periodic) for which there is empirical verification that it moves in an elliptical, and not in a parabolic, orbit.
C/1807 R1 | Scientific importance
For two days, when the comet was at its closest, the Earth was actually within the comet's tail, and streams of cometary material converging towards the distant nucleus could be seen.
C/1861 J1 | Introduction
The Great Comet of 1882 was discovered independently by many observers, as it was already easily visible to the naked eye when it appeared in early September 1882, just a few days before perihelion, at which it reached an apparent magnitude estimated to have been -17, by far the brightest recorded for any comet and exceeding the brightness of the full moon by a factor of 57. It grew rapidly brighter and was eventually so bright it was visible in the daytime for two days (16–17 September), even through light cloud. After its perihelion passage, the comet remained bright for several weeks.
Kreutz sungrazer | Great Comet of 1882
He re-joined the college when Rev. Bicknell was appointed principal. Astronomy had been a hobby of Abraham's throughout his life. He wrote several articles on the subject for the "Morning Star", Jaffna College Miscellany and the Royal Astronomical Society. He correctly calculated that Halley's Comet would be closest to the Earth on 19 May 1910 between 9am and 10am and that it would not hit the Earth as it would enter the orbit of Venus, retarding its path. He was elected fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society on 12 January 1912 for this work, having been proposed by proposed by A.
Allen Abraham | Career
In the mid-1830s near the watchtower an observatory was established for observing Halley's Comet (visible from Earth from 1835 to 1836). This observatory was a pavilion placed on the rotating platform. Nowadays, the only part of the observatory that survived is the bulky cast iron pedestral buried in the rock. Since 3 October 1943, the watchtower has the status of architectural monument. It means that the watchtower should be renovated but not rebuilt. From the 1990s to the 2000s, the watchtower was dilapidated. The walls of the tower were painted several times, but the interior space was in highly deteriorated condition.
Lis'ya Mountain | History
After its perihelion passage, the comet moved into the southern celestial hemisphere. The comet was much less impressive to southern hemisphere observers than it had been in the northern hemisphere, but southerners were able to see the comet gradually fade from view during the second half of 1997. The last naked-eye observations were reported in December 1997, which meant that the comet had remained visible without aid for 569 days, or about 18 and a half months. The previous record had been set by the Great Comet of 1811, which was visible to the naked eye for about 9 months.
Comet Hale–Bopp | After perihelion
The Internet played a large role in encouraging the unprecedented public interest in comet Hale–Bopp. As the comet approached the Sun, it continued to brighten, shining at 2nd magnitude in February, and showing a growing pair of tails, the blue gas tail pointing straight away from the Sun and the yellowish dust tail curving away along its orbit. On March 9, a solar eclipse in China, Mongolia and eastern Siberia allowed observers there to see the comet in the daytime. Hale–Bopp had its closest approach to Earth on March 22, 1997, at a distance of 1.315 AU.
Comet Hale–Bopp | Perihelion
43P/Wolf–Harrington is a periodic comet discovered on December 22, 1924, by Max Wolf in Heidelberg, Germany. In 2019 it passed within of Jupiter, which lifted the perihelion point and increased the orbital period to 9 years. During the 1997 apparition the comet reached an apparent magnitude a little bit brighter than 12. The comet had an unfavorable apparition in 2010, because during perihelion (closest approach to the Sun), the comet was only 10 degrees from the Sun as seen from Earth. The comet was not more favorably positioned in the sky until mid October 2010.
43P/Wolf–Harrington | Introduction