MAGNIFICENT COMETS
Added on: 10th Oct 2016
HALLEY’S COMET (1910)
On the morning of May 19, after the moon had set,
Halley’s tail could be seen all over the sky, making
1910 a great year for comets.
GREAT SOUTHERN COMET (1947)
In December 1947 there suddenly appeared, close to the
setting sun, a truly great comet, the brightest to be
observed since Halley’s Comet made its latest
spectacular return in 1910. So many people saw the
new comet at the same time that no one observer
could be credited with its discovery.
GREAT JANUARY COMET (1910)
This comet was visible during the day on January 17, 1910,
as a snowy white object with a long impressive tail.
GREAT COMET OF 1577
One of the first comets to be seen with the naked eye in
modern history, the Great Comet of 1577 passed close to
Earth. It was viewed by many people all over Europe,
including the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe. From his
observations of the comet, Brahe was able to discover that
comets and similar objects travel above Earth’s atmosphere.
GREAT COMET OF 1744
The Great Comet of 1744, also known as Comet de Chéseaux,
was a particularly impressive comet that was observed
during 1743 and 1744. It became visible to the naked eye
for several months in 1744 and displayed dramatic and
unusual effects in the sky. Its intrinsic brightness was
the sixth highest in recorded history.
HALE–BOPP (1997)
Hale–Bopp was perhaps the most widely observed comet
of the twentieth century and one of the brightest seen in
contemporary history. It was visible to the naked eye for a
record eighteen months, twice as long as the previous
record holder, the Great Comet of 1811. According to a
survey by Maricopa Research, the comet was seen by
eighty one percent of American adults.
GREAT SEPTEMBER COMET (1882)
This was a comet that became very bright in September
1882. It was so bright that it could be seen next to the
sun at its perihelion.
KOHOUTEK (1973)
Heavily billed as potentially “the Comet of the Century,” it
indeed became a spectacular object right after perihelion
but only as seen from Skylab III. Comet Kohoutek was first
sighted on March 7, 1973, by Czech astronomer Lubos Kohoutek.
It attained perihelion on December 28. It is considered a
Long period comet and its previous appearance was about
150,000 years ago. Keep in mind that its return is
estimated to be in about 75,000 years.
Comment on this