Great Comet of 1843
Encyclopedia
The Great Comet of 1843 formally designated C/1843 D1 and 1843 I, was a long-period comet
which became very bright in March 1843 (it is also known as the Great March Comet). It was discovered on February 5, 1843 and rapidly brightened to become a great comet
. It was a member of the Kreutz Sungrazers
, a family of comets resulting from the breakup of a parent comet (X/1106 C1
) into multiple fragments in about 1106. These comets pass extremely close to the surface of the Sun
—within a few solar radii—and often become very bright as a result.
First observed in early February, 1843, it raced toward an incredibly close perihelion of less than 830,000 km on February 27, 1843; at this time it was observed in broad daylight roughly a degree
away from the Sun
http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/great_comets.html. It passed closest to Earth on March 6, 1843, and was at its greatest brilliance the following day; unfortunately for observers north of the equator
, at its peak it was best visible from the Southern Hemisphere
http://www2.phys.canterbury.ac.nz/cas/comets.html. It was last observed on April 19, 1843. At that time this comet had passed closer to the sun than any other known object.
The Great Comet of 1843 developed an extremely long tail during and after its perihelion passage. At over 2 Astronomical Unit
s in length, it was the longest known cometary tail until measurements in 1996 showed that Comet Hyakutake
's tail was almost twice as long. There is a painting in the National Maritime Museum
that was created by astronomer Charles Piazzi Smyth
. The purpose of the painting is to show the overall brightness and size of the tail of the comet.
Comet
A comet is an icy small Solar System body that, when close enough to the Sun, displays a visible coma and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are both due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind upon the nucleus of the comet...
which became very bright in March 1843 (it is also known as the Great March Comet). It was discovered on February 5, 1843 and rapidly brightened to become a great comet
Great comet
A Great Comet is a comet that becomes exceptionally bright. There is no official definition; often the term will be attached to comets that become bright enough to be noticed by casual observers who are not actively looking for them, and become well known outside the astronomical community. Great...
. It was a member of the Kreutz Sungrazers
Kreutz Sungrazers
The Kreutz Sungrazers are a family of sungrazing comets, characterized by orbits taking them extremely close to the Sun at perihelion. They are believed to be fragments of one large comet that broke up several centuries ago and are named for German astronomer Heinrich Kreutz, who first...
, a family of comets resulting from the breakup of a parent comet (X/1106 C1
X/1106 C1
X/1106 C1, also known as the Great Comet of 1106, was a Great Comet that appeared on February 2, 1106, and was observed across the world from the beginning of February through to mid-March. It was recorded by astronomers in Wales, England, Japan, Korea, China and Europe. It was observed to split...
) into multiple fragments in about 1106. These comets pass extremely close to the surface of the Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
—within a few solar radii—and often become very bright as a result.
First observed in early February, 1843, it raced toward an incredibly close perihelion of less than 830,000 km on February 27, 1843; at this time it was observed in broad daylight roughly a degree
Degree (angle)
A degree , usually denoted by ° , is a measurement of plane angle, representing 1⁄360 of a full rotation; one degree is equivalent to π/180 radians...
away from the Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/great_comets.html. It passed closest to Earth on March 6, 1843, and was at its greatest brilliance the following day; unfortunately for observers north of the equator
Equator
An equator is the intersection of a sphere's surface with the plane perpendicular to the sphere's axis of rotation and containing the sphere's center of mass....
, at its peak it was best visible from the Southern Hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...
http://www2.phys.canterbury.ac.nz/cas/comets.html. It was last observed on April 19, 1843. At that time this comet had passed closer to the sun than any other known object.
The Great Comet of 1843 developed an extremely long tail during and after its perihelion passage. At over 2 Astronomical Unit
Astronomical unit
An astronomical unit is a unit of length equal to about or approximately the mean Earth–Sun distance....
s in length, it was the longest known cometary tail until measurements in 1996 showed that Comet Hyakutake
Comet Hyakutake
Comet Hyakutake is a comet, discovered on January 31, 1996, which passed very close to Earth in March of that year. It was dubbed The Great Comet of 1996; its passage near the Earth was one of the closest cometary approaches of the previous 200 years. Hyakutake appeared very bright in the night...
's tail was almost twice as long. There is a painting in the National Maritime Museum
National Maritime Museum
The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England is the leading maritime museum of the United Kingdom and may be the largest museum of its kind in the world. The historic buildings forming part of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site, it also incorporates the Royal Observatory, Greenwich,...
that was created by astronomer Charles Piazzi Smyth
Charles Piazzi Smyth
Charles Piazzi Smyth , was Astronomer Royal for Scotland from 1846 to 1888, well-known for many innovations in astronomy and his pyramidological and metrological studies of the Great Pyramid of Giza....
. The purpose of the painting is to show the overall brightness and size of the tail of the comet.