Halley's Comet

    British astronomer Edmond Halley (1656 -1742) was the first to prove that comets travel in orbits, making it possible to calculate when they will next be seen from Earth. He predicted that the comet he saw in 1682 would return in 1759. It did and was named in his honour. The regular orbit of Halley’s Comet means that we can find historical accounts f its appearances going back more than 2,000 years. They were often believed to foretell great events.

25may 240 BC Seen in China

10 October 12 BC Believed to mark the death of Roman general Agrippa

28 June AD 451 Believed to mark the defeat of Attila the Hun

20 March 1066 William (later William the Conquer) believed the comet foretold victory over King Harold at the Battle of Hastings. The comet and battle are later depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry.

9 June 1456 The defeat  of the Turkish army by Papal forces was thought to be linked to the comet.

15 September 1682 Observed by Edmond Halley, who predicted its return

13 March 1759 The comet’s first return, as predicted by Halley, proving his calculations correct

16 November 1835 The American author Mark Twain is born. He always believed that his fate was linked to that of the comet, and soon after it reappeared in 1910, he died.

10 April 1910 There was panic as many believed the world would come to an end.

9 February 1986 The Japanese Suisel probe, Soviet Vega 1 and Vega 2 and the European Space Agency’s Giotto passed close to Halley’s Comet.  Astronomers concluded that the comet is made of dust held together by water and carbon dioxide ice.

28 July 2061 Next due to appear. The orbit of Halley’s Comet is not exactly 76 years. Astronomers have to take into account the gravitational pull from planets when calculating its return.