Title: Note on the photographic spectrum of comet b 1881 Author: Sir William Huggins
On the evening of June 24 I directed the reflector furnished with the spectroscopic and photographic arrangements described in my paper "On the :Photographic Spectrum of Comet 'b' 1881 to the head of the comet, so that the nucleus should be upon one half of the slit.
We have been favoured with the following interesting letter, dated May 29, on the great comet of 1881 by the Government Astronomer, Mr. O. Todd, C.M.G.: - Your readers have already been advised by the telegraph that a fine comet has made its appearance within the last week in the south-western sky. So far as I am at precept aware it appears to have been first been in Australia by that active and zealous astronomer, Mr. Tebbutt, of Windsor, in New South Wales, and it has since been ob served by Mr. Elkry, in Melbourne, and no doubt by Sir. Russell. Owing to floods I had no opportunity of seeing it till Friday evening. This evening, Sunday, the sky being beautifully clear, I had a splendid view of it with our equatorial, and a few word of descriptive of its appearance may not be without interest. Read more
Title: C/1881 K1: A Forgotten "Great Comet'' of the Nineteenth Century Authors: W. Orchiston
The Great Comet of 1881 (C/1881 K1) was discovered by the Australian amateur astronomer, John Tebbutt, and was destined to make a major contribution to cometary astronomy. Because it appeared at a critical time in the development of astrophysics, this comet was able to play a key role in both astronomical photography and astronomical spectroscopy. In addition, observations of its head and tail added to our understanding of cometary structure and dynamics. Despite this, Comet C/1881 K1 has received scant recognition in the general astronomical literature on comets.