The Comet of 1680 and the Egg of Rome
In 1680, a comet with a tail stretching across the sky terrified Europe. In Rome, it was said, a hen laid an egg marked with its picture.
What was reported
On 14 November 1680, the German astronomer Gottfried Kirch, in Coburg, spotted a new comet with his telescope, the first comet ever discovered that way. It soon became one of the brightest comets in history, with a tail so long it seemed to stretch across a large part of the night sky.
Across Europe, it was taken as an omen. Pamphlets reported that a hen in Rome had laid an egg marked with the image of the comet, and sermons warned of judgement to come.
Explanations offered
Isaac Newton used careful observations of the comet's path to show that comets move in orbits around the Sun under gravity, a key part of his Principia in 1687. The comet passed very close to the Sun, which made its tail so brilliant. The marked egg was a popular story of the time.
- When
- November 1680 – March 1681
- Where
- Coburg, Bavaria, Germany
- Witnesses
- Gottfried Kirch, Isaac Newton and people across Europe
- Status
- Explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
More from Bayern