The Comet Seen Beside the Sun
In September 1882, a comet so bright appeared that it could be seen in broad daylight, right beside the Sun.
What was reported
The Great Comet of 1882 was first noticed by sailors and observers in the southern hemisphere in early September. On 17 September it swept around the Sun, so close it passed through its outer atmosphere, and was bright enough to be seen in daylight, a glowing point next to the Sun's disc.
Afterwards its tail stretched across the dawn sky. At the Royal Observatory at the Cape of Good Hope, the astronomer David Gill photographed it, one of the first good photographs of a comet.
Explanations offered
It was a 'sungrazer', a comet whose orbit takes it extremely close to the Sun, and it broke into several pieces as it passed. Gill's photographs showed so many stars in the background that they inspired the first great photographic map of the sky.
- When
- September 1882
- Where
- Royal Observatory, Cape Town, South Africa
- Witnesses
- People around the world, and astronomers at the Cape
- 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.
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