{"id":4254,"date":"2023-05-19T16:37:14","date_gmt":"2023-05-19T16:37:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/astrsoc.cmb.ac.lk\/?p=4254"},"modified":"2025-09-03T06:26:33","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T06:26:33","slug":"halleys-comet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/astrsoc.cmb.ac.lk\/?p=4254","title":{"rendered":"Halley\u2019s Comet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Halley\u2019s Comet or Comet Halley is a short-period comet that is visible to the naked eye from the Earth. It was named after the English mathematician and astronomer Edmond Halley, who was the first to calculate the orbit of a comet. This comet is officially called 1P\/Halley where P indicates that Halley is a periodic comet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Halley\u2019s Comet
https:\/\/www.space.com\/11552-photos-halleys-comet-images-astronomy.html<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Edmond Halley, using Isaac Newton\u2019s theories of planetary motion, was able to calculate the orbits of 24 comets. He also found that comets that appeared in 1531, 1607, and 1682 had similar orbits. Later he suggested that they were not three comets, but the same comet appearing periodically. He also predicted that it would appear again in 1758. After 16 years after the death of Edmond Halley, the comet did appear as he predicted. This was the first comet p\ufeff\u6a02\u5a01\u58ef<\/a>\n<\/span>redicted to return, and to honor Edmond Halley for his discovery this comet was named Halley\u2019s Comet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Edmond Halley
https:\/\/www.meteorologiaenred.com\/sn\/edmund-halley.html<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Scientists believe that Halley\u2019s Comet has been zipping through our solar system for thousands of years. The earliest known appearance of the comet was around 466 B.C. in the skies of ancient Greece. During the Han Dynasty in China, \u201cRecords of the Grand Historian\u201d describes a \u201cbroom star\u201d that appeared in 240 B.C. which might have been Halley\u2019s Comet. Ancient Babylonians also recorded comets that they observed in 164 B.C. and 87 B.C. on clay tablets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sightings of comets were often considered bad luck that cause the deaths of kings or natural disasters. During the Hun\u2019s defeat at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains, during the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 66 A.D., and even during the Battle of the Hastings in 1066 this comet had appeared in the skies. Halley\u2019s Comet was included in Bayeux Tapestry which portrays King Harold and a crowd of fearful Englishmen watching the sky. In 1301, Italian artist Giotto was able to observe Halley\u2019s Comet. Later it was included in his painting \u201cAdoration of the Magi\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Bayeux Tapestry portraying Halley\u2019s Comet
https:\/\/www.onthisday.com\/articles\/the-quiet-passing-of-halleys-comet<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Adoration of the Magi by Giotto https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-Adoration-of-the-Magi-painting-by-Giotto-di-Bondone<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The most recent visit of Halley\u2019s Comet was in 1986. Many telescopes and unmanned space probes were ready to observe and photograph the comet during its transit. The European Space Agency\u2019s \u201cGiotto\u201d, which was named after the Italian artist, was able to approach within 370 miles of the nucleus of the comet and photograph it. The photographs obtained from these space probes helped scientists to understand more about Halley\u2019s Comet and proved its core was made up of dust and ice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photograph of Halley\u2019s Comet taken by Giotto
https:\/\/solarsystem.nasa.gov\/asteroids-comets-and-meteors\/comets\/1p-halley\/in-depth\/<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

After its 76-year journey, we will be able to observe Halley\u2019s Comet again in 2061. As science and technology have progressed a lot during the past few decades, scientists will be able to uncover many more fascinating facts about this comet during its next visit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-Thusali Kodikara-<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

References :<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Halley’s Comet is Edmond Halley’s namesake. Happy birthday, Edmond!<\/a><\/blockquote>