Halley’s Comet is the most famous comet and is often used in conversations when we refer to phenomena that take place very rarely. But what exactly is a comet, and what makes Halley’s comet so special?
A comet is just a cosmic ball of dust, rocks and frozen gases which orbit the sun, and when it passes closely to the sun in its orbit( this point is called the ‘perihelion’), then it releases gases and produces a visible atmosphere which is often called as ‘coma’. This light that is produced is what we are able to see from earth, and in case of the Halley’s Comet is so bright that we can see it without any astronomical apparatus. It does not cause any damage to our eyes unlike the solar eclipses that we should not be viewing with our naked eyes!
Halley’s Comet is a periodic comet that returns to the vicinity of the earth every 75 years. And this is history’s first known, ‘periodic’ comet. In astronomical terms, it is referred to as the ‘1P/Halley’, P referring to the periodic nature of the comet.
This comet is named after the person who discovered it, an English astronomer named Edmond Halley. He studied the reports of comets that approached the earth in 1531, 1607 and 1682. And while tracing the orbits of various comets using Newton’s laws of gravitation and planetary motion, he concluded that they were all the same comet and would return to the earth in 1758. And although he wasn’t alive to see the comet return, his discovery helped thousands observe the phenomenon.
Through various paintings, tapestries and written records, the European Space Agency has claimed that the first known observation of this comet was over 2000 years ago, in 239 BC. And in many civilizations, the comet is seen as a sign of bad luck and change, bringing war, famine and ill-fortune to many. (If Halley’s comet came in 2020, then maybe we would be able to figure out the reason for the corona virus being here?)
The Halley’s Comet was last viewed from earth in 1986, and it was the first time that spacecrafts were sent to observe and study the constituents of the comet and send beautiful pictures of the comet back to the earth. The comet is projected to be next viewed in 2061, and hopefully we get to see this beautiful sight!
Image credits: Space.com
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