C/1807 R1

Last updated
C/1807 R1
Basi Revolt.jpg
The Great Comet of 1807 seen from the Philippines, as depicted by Esteban Villanueva during the Basi Revolt
Discovery
Discovered by the Augustinian friar Parisi at Castrogiovanni [1]
Designations
Great Comet of 1807
Orbital characteristics
Epoch 2381313.7389
1807-Sep-19.2389 [2]
Aphelion 285.8 AU [2]
Perihelion 0.6461 AU [2]
Semi-major axis 143.2012 AU
Eccentricity 0.9955 [2]
Orbital period ~1714 a
Inclination 63.1762° [2]

C/1807 R1, also known as the Great Comet of 1807, is a long-period comet. It was visible to naked-eye observers in the northern hemisphere from early September 1807 to late December, and is ranked among the great comets due to its exceptional brightness.

Contents

Discovery

Artist's depiction of the western sky slightly after sundown on 9 September 1807 in Sicily (view looking west over the Mediterranean) C1807R1 Discovery.png
Artist’s depiction of the western sky slightly after sundown on 9 September 1807 in Sicily (view looking west over the Mediterranean)

Its discovery is often credited to the Augustinian friar P. Reggente Parisi [1] [3] [4] at Castrogiovanni in Sicily. He recorded observing the comet very close to the horizon in the early twilight of 9 September 1807, not far from the equally bright star Spica: at that time the planets Venus, Mars and Saturn were also near the comet. [5] Moonlight interfered with observations for the following week and thanks to his favorable southerly location, Parisi might have been able to make his discovery several days before a number of other observers in Europe independently discovered the comet. [6]

Orbital data points suggest that the comet should have been first discovered by the unassisted eye in the southern hemisphere several weeks before it became visible in the northern hemisphere; however there are no such historical reports. In Australia the comet should have been visible during all of August in the early evening twilight on the western horizon with a brightness approaching magnitude 1. [6]

Observations

Jean-Louis Pons, at Marseille, saw the comet in evening twilight on 21 September; shortly afterwards his colleague Jacques-Joseph Thulis (1768–1810) made the first positional determination for the comet in terms of the celestial coordinate system. [6] Dunbar, in America, noted that the comet was first seen there "about the 20th September" and commented that the surveyor Seth Pease (1764–1819) [7] began making observations on the 22nd. [8] On September 20 the comet reached a brightness between magnitude 1 and 2. [9]

In the following 10 days the comet was independently discovered by Jacques Vidal and Honoré Flaugergues in France, Edward Pigott in England, Johann Sigismund Gottfried Huth and Johann Friedrich Eule in Germany, and Gonzalez in Spain. The comet was too observed on the 26th September by Francisco José de Caldas in New Granada (Colombia). [10] Vidal estimated the length of the comet’s tail to be between 7° and 8° in length. [6]

Near the end of September, on its journey away from the Sun, the comet made its closest approach to Earth; it was visible to the naked eye throughout the month of October. On October 1 Johann Elert Bode reported a tail length of 5°. On October 4 Huth reported that the tail had split into a straight, 6°-degree long tail and a shorter, curved tail. Both tails were also seen on October 20 when Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers noted that the two tails were separated by 1.5°; the more northerly tail was very narrow, thin and straight and about 10° long, while the more southerly tail was broad, short and about 4.5° long.

A few days later, the two tails could no longer be distinguished from each other; in Natchez, Mississippi, Dunbar saw on October 24 only a single tail, which had a length of 2.7°. At the University of Göttingen, Johann Hieronymus Schroeter made accurate observational measurements of the comet from 4 October 1807 to 18 February 1808. [11] The comet was observed from HMS Buffalo by Captain Philip Gidley King at Lat 15 degrees 4 minutes, Long 28 degrees 52 mins. "Mon 5th Oct. A remarkable star seen for the 2nd time. It appeared from the West and had a bright luminous tail and considerable magnitude". [12]

In November and December the comet was still visible to the naked eye, but its brightness had steadily diminished and by the end of November the tail was difficult to discern. On November 20 William Herschel estimated the length of the tail to be 2.5°, but in the beginning of December he could identify a short tail only in large refractor.

Amongst the observers of the comet was an elderly Charles Messier, who noted that "the comet became very beautiful, and stayed beautiful during a large number of days [...] it was marked in the sky by a nucleus of great luminosity which it enveloped, and from which came out a very clear, very extended tail". [13] Despite failing eyesight, Messier was able to make several telescopic observations of the comet. [14]

From January 1808 there were no further naked-eye observations. Telescopic sightings of the comet were made on February 19 by Olbers, on February 24 by Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel, and on February 28, after a long search, by Dunbar. The final telescopic observation was made by Vincent Wisniewsky in Saint Petersburg on 27 March 1808. [6]

Orbit

Using observations over 187 days Bessel computed an elongated orbit inclined about 63° to the ecliptic. [2] At perihelion, which occurred on 19 September 1807 the comet was about .646 AU the Sun. The comet was on September 11 about .775 AU from Venus and on September 15 about .836 AU from Mars. On September 26 the comet made its closet approach to Earth at a distance of about 1.15 AU; for a great comet this distance is unusually large — only two other known great comets failed to come closer than 1 AU to Earth — namely, the Great Comet of 1811 and Comet Hale-Bopp. [5]

At the time of the discovery of C/1881 K1, the Great Comet of 1881, its discoverer John Tebbutt initially considered the possibility that it was a return of the 1807 comet due to apparent orbital similarities between the two.

Scientific importance

John Bull making observations on the Comet John Bull making observations on the Comet (caricature).jpg
John Bull making observations on the Comet

In October 1807 Bode, Johann Karl Burckhardt and Francis Triesnecker calculated estimates of a parabolic orbit for the comet. Initially Bessel also calculated a parabolic orbit, but additional observations enabled him to calculate an elliptic orbit. Since this estimate of an elliptic orbit still did not agree with the observations to Bessel's satisfaction, he developed a novel method for calculating the orbital elements. Bessel's method took into account the changing gravitational influences of the Sun and planets near to the comet and made better use of the observational data by means of a least squares estimation technique developed a few years earlier by Carl Friedrich Gauss.

For this comet there were observational data for over six months and thus for a significant part of the cometary orbit Bessel's calculated predictions could be compared to the observations. The great comet of 1807 is the first long-period comet (other than Halley's comet, which was already known to be periodic) for which there is empirical verification that it moves in an elliptical, and not in a parabolic, orbit. [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comet Ikeya–Seki</span> Long-period comet

Comet Ikeya–Seki, formally designated C/1965 S1, 1965 VIII, and 1965f, was a long-period comet discovered independently by Kaoru Ikeya and Tsutomu Seki. First observed as a faint telescopic object on September 18, 1965, the first calculations of its orbit suggested that on October 21, it would pass just 450,000 km (280,000 mi) above the Sun's surface, and would probably become extremely bright.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Comet of 1811</span> Astronomical object

The Great Comet of 1811, formally designated C/1811 F1, is a comet that was visible to the naked eye for around 260 days, the longest recorded period of visibility until the appearance of Comet Hale–Bopp in 1997. In October 1811, at its brightest, and when it was 1.2 AU from Earth, it displayed an apparent magnitude of 0, with an easily visible coma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sungrazing comet</span> Comet that is extremely close to the sun during part of its orbit

A sungrazing comet is a comet that passes extremely close to the Sun at perihelion – sometimes within a few thousand kilometres of the Sun's surface. Although small sungrazers can completely evaporate during such a close approach to the Sun, larger sungrazers can survive many perihelion passages. However, the strong evaporation and tidal forces they experience often lead to their fragmentation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comet Donati</span> Long-Period Comet named after the Italian astronomer Giovanni Battista Donati

Comet Donati, or Donati's Comet, formally designated C/1858 L1 and 1858 VI, is a long-period comet named after the Italian astronomer Giovanni Battista Donati who first observed it on June 2, 1858. After the Great Comet of 1811, it was the most brilliant comet that appeared in the 19th century. It was also the first comet to be photographed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Comet of 1882</span> Astronomical object

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. The comet made its closest approach to Earth on 16 September 1882 at 0.99 AU and then came to perihelion the next day on 17 September.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comet Bennett</span> Icy small Solar System body; passed closest to Earth in 1970

Comet Bennett, formally known as C/1969 Y1, was one of the two bright comets observed in the 1970s, along with Comet West and is considered a great comet. The name is also borne by an altogether different comet, C/1974 V2. Discovered by John Caister Bennett on December 28, 1969, while still almost two AUs from the Sun, it reached perihelion on March 20, passing closest to Earth on March 26, 1970, as it receded, peaking at magnitude 0. It was last observed on February 27, 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">13P/Olbers</span> Periodic comet with 70 year orbit

13P/Olbers is a periodic comet with an orbital period of 69 years. It fits the classical definition of a Halley-type comet with. The comet had last been seen in 1956 and the next perihelion is on 30 June 2024.

The Comet of 1729, also known as C/1729 P1 or Comet Sarabat, was an assumed parabolic comet with an absolute magnitude of −3, the brightest ever observed for a comet; it is therefore considered to be potentially the largest comet ever seen. With an assumed eccentricity of 1, it is unknown if this comet will return in a hundred thousand years or be ejected from the Solar System.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comet Lulin</span>

Comet Lulin is a non-periodic comet. It was discovered by Ye Quanzhi and Lin Chi-Sheng from Lulin Observatory. It peaked in brightness at magnitude between +4.5 and +5, becoming visible to the naked eye, and arrived at perigee for observers on Earth on February 24, 2009, and at 0.411 AU from Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Comet of 1823</span> Astronomical object

The Great Comet of 1823, also designated C/1823 Y1 or Comet De Bréauté-Pons, was a bright comet visible in the last month of 1823 and the first months of 1824.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Comet of 1901</span>

The Great Comet of 1901, sometimes known as Comet Viscara, formally designated C/1901 G1, was a comet which became bright in the spring of 1901. Visible exclusively from the southern hemisphere, it was discovered on the morning of April 12, 1901 as a naked-eye object of second magnitude with a short tail. On the day of perihelion passage, the comet's head was reported as deep yellowish in color, trailing a 10-degree tail. It was last seen by the naked eye on May 23.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C/1874 H1</span> Comet in 1874

C/1874 H1 (Coggia) is a non-periodic comet, which in the summer of 1874 could be seen by the naked eye. On the basis of its brightness, the comet has been called the Great Comet of 1874; on July 13 of that year its apparent magnitude peaked at between 0 and 1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C/1769 P1</span>

C/1769 P1 (Messier) is a long-period comet that was visible to the naked eye at its last apparition in 1769. The comet is classified as a great comet due to its superlative brightness.

C/1865 B1 was a non-periodic comet, which in 1865 was so bright that it was visible to unaided-eye observations in the Southern Hemisphere. The comet could not be seen from the Northern Hemisphere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Comet of 1819</span> Comet discovered by German astronomer Johann Georg Tralles

The Great Comet of 1819, officially designated as C/1819 N1, also known as Comet Tralles, was an exceptionally bright and easily visible comet, approaching an apparent magnitude of 1–2, discovered July 1, 1819 by the German astronomer Johann Georg Tralles in Berlin. It was the first comet analyzed using polarimetry, by French mathematician François Arago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C/2014 Q1 (PanSTARRS)</span>

C/2014 Q1 (PanSTARRS) is a non-periodic/long period comet discovered on 16 August 2014 by the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS). The comet after its perihelion on July 6, 2015 reached a magnitude of +4 while being in evening twilight. The comet after perihelion featured three tails.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS)</span> Comet

C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) was a comet with a near-parabolic orbit discovered by the ATLAS survey on December 28, 2019. Early predictions based on the brightening rate suggested that the comet could become as bright as magnitude 0 matching the brightness of Vega. It received widespread media coverage due to its dramatic increase in brightness and orbit similar to the Great Comet of 1844, but on March 22, 2020, the comet started disintegrating. Such fragmentation events are very common for Kreutz Sungrazers. The comet continues to fade and did not reach naked eye visibility. By mid-May, comet ATLAS appeared very diffuse even in a telescope. C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) has not been seen since May 21, 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comet NEOWISE</span> Bright comet of July 2020

C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) or Comet NEOWISE is a long period comet with a near-parabolic orbit discovered on March 27, 2020, by astronomers during the NEOWISE mission of the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) space telescope. At that time, it was an 18th-magnitude object, located 2 AU away from the Sun and 1.7 AU away from Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C/1957 P1 (Mrkos)</span>

Comet Mrkos, formally known as C/1957 P1, was a non-periodic comet discovered in 1957 by Antonín Mrkos. It was one of two bright comets that had their perihelion in 1957, the other being Comet Arend–Roland. Its peak magnitude was estimated to be around 1 and it has been characterised as a great comet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C/2022 E3 (ZTF)</span> Non-periodic comet

C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is a non-periodic comet from the Oort cloud that was discovered by the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) on 2 March 2022. The comet has a bright green glow around its nucleus, due to the effect of sunlight on diatomic carbon and cyanogen. The comet's systematic designation starts with C to indicate that it is not a periodic comet, and "2022 E3" means that it was the third comet to be discovered in the first half of March 2022.

References

  1. 1 2 Hind, J. Russell (1852). "1807. The great comet of this year". The comets: a descriptive treatise upon those bodies. London: John W. Parker and Son. p.  154.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "NASA JPL Small-Body Database Browser: C/1807 R1".
  3. ↑ Lynn, W. T. (1902). "Edward Piggott and the Comet of 1807". The Observatory. 25 (322): 336–337. Bibcode:1902Obs....25..336L.
  4. ↑ Cacciatore, N. (1808) Della cometa apparsa in settembre del 1807, p.9
  5. 1 2 Bryant, Greg. "Bright Comets Of The Last Two Centuries - Part I".
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 G. W. Kronk: Cometography: A Catalog of Comets, Volume 2. 1800–1899. Cambridge University Press, 2003, ISBN   0-521-58505-8, pp. 10–14.
  7. ↑ Encyclopedia of Cleveland History: PEASE, SETH
  8. ↑ Dunbar, W. "Some Observations in the Comet of 1807-8" in Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, 6 (1809), 368
  9. ↑ Donald K. Yeomans. "NASA JPL Solar System Dynamics: Great Comets in History".
  10. ↑ Portilla, José Gregorio (2017). "Caldas y el gran cometa de 1807". Revista de la Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. 41 (159): 244–252. doi: 10.18257/raccefyn.449 .
  11. ↑ J. H. Schroeter: Beobachtungen des groſsen Cometen von 1807. Göttingen 1811.
  12. ↑ Captain's log held at National Archives, Kew, England ADM51/1694
  13. ↑ Grego, P. (2013) Blazing a Ghostly Trail: ISON and Great Comets of the Past and Future, Practical Astronomy, p.106
  14. ↑ Grego (2013) p.107
  15. ↑ F. W. Bessel: Untersuchungen über die scheinbare und wahre Bahn des im Jahre 1807 erschienenen grossen Kometen. Königsberg 1810.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.