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TOPIC: Great Comet of 1882

Blobrana

L

Posts: 131433

Date: Sep 7 13:54 2014

Great Comet of 1882	Permalink

A few weeks before the transit this telescope found an even more famous use. On the morning of 8 September 1882, Finlay was on his way home after a night's work when he noticed a bright comet. He turned back and used the 6-inch to make a precise positional observation of this comet, which later became known as the Great Comet of 1882 (C/1882 R1) and became bright enough to be visible in the daytime. After seeing a badly trailed photograph of this comet, Gill got the idea of mounting a portrait camera on the 6-inch Grubb. This successful attempt not only produced the first good-quality comet photograph ever, but it also registered pinpoint star images, which put Gill onto the idea that eventually led to the photographic era of astronomy (Glass 1989). Read more (PDF) __________________

Blobrana

L

Posts: 131433

Date: Sep 6 20:24 2014

Kreutz Sungrazers	Permalink

It is now well established that the comets C/1843 D1, C/1880 C1, C/1882 R1, C/1887 B1, C/1963 R1, C/1965 S1, and C/1970 K1 are all members of a family known as the Kreutz Sungrazers, which are all descended from one comet. Current models do not support the frequent supposition in the prior literature that the famous comet of 372 BC is in fact the ultimate parent of the Sungrazers. The comet of 372 BC is often associated with Aristotle who, along with others from his time, described that comet in his writings. However, Aristotle was only twelve at the time of the comet's appearance and the historian, Callisthenes of Olynthus, who also wrote about it was born ten years after its appearance. Consequently, their reports should not be taken as eye-witness accounts. Further, there is no mention of the comet in Chinese literature of the time. Instead either the comet of February 423 or of February 467 with orbital periods of around 700 years is now considered the likely progenitor of the Sungrazers. The fragments of the Great Comet of 1882 will return in several hundred years' time, spread out over perhaps two or three centuries Source __________________

Blobrana

L

Posts: 131433

Date: Sep 1 04:59 2013

Great Comet of 1882	Permalink

The Great Comet of 1882 formally designated C/1882 R1, 1882 II, and 1882b, was a comet which became very bright in September 1882. It was a member of the Kreutz Sungrazers, a family of comets which pass within 1 R of the Sun's photosphere at perihelion. The comet was bright enough to be visible next to the sun in the daytime sky at its perihelion. Reports suggest that it was first seen as early as 1 September 1882, from the Cape of Good Hope as well as the Gulf of Guinea, and over the next few days many observers in the southern hemisphere reported the new comet. Read more __________________

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