Comet Galaxy [SEP] site of astronomical discovery
Edwin Holmes (astronomer)


Science". He became well known for his letters to the "English Mechanic", often robustly criticising the opinions of other amateur astronomers, occasionally causing controversy. In particular, he argued for the use of reflecting telescopes in preference to refractors of similar cost. Edwin Holmes discovered the periodic comet 17P/Holmes on 6 November 1892, and his discovery was confirmed within days at the Royal Observatory Greenwich. Holmes discovered the comet after it suddenly brightened, allowing him to notice it close in the sky to the great Andromeda Galaxy
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Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 2


The Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 2 (OAO-2, nicknamed Stargazer) was the first space telescope, launched on December 7, 1968. An Atlas-Centaur rocket launched it into a nearly circular altitude Earth orbit. Data was collected in ultraviolet on many sources including comets, planets, and galaxies. It had two major instrument sets facing in opposite directions; the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) and the Wisconsin Experiment Package (WEP). One discovery was large halos of hydrogen gas around comets, and it also observed Nova Serpentis,
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Robert Evans (astronomer)


was allocated about 110 nights, half of which were suitable for observing), resulting in about 10,000 galaxy observations, another three visual supernovae discoveries, and an additional four supernovae spotted on photographs made at the observatory. By 2001, he had made 33 visual discoveries and by the end of 2005, despite the increasing competition from automated telescopes, the total number had already increased to 40 visual supernova discoveries plus one comet. In 2005, Evans relied almost exclusively on his 31 cm Dobsonian. He reported 6,814 galaxy observations in a
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Astronomical object


nebulae, and galaxies, while asteroids, moons, planets, and stars are astronomical bodies. A comet may be identified as both body and object: It is a "body" when referring to the frozen nucleus of ice and dust, and an "object" when describing the entire comet with its diffuse coma and tail. The universe can be viewed as having a hierarchical structure. At the largest scales, the fundamental component of assembly is the galaxy. Galaxies are organized into groups and clusters, often within larger superclusters
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Julianne Dalcanton


Julianne Dalcanton is an American astronomer. She is Professor of Astronomy, University of Washington, and researcher for Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Her main work is on the area of galaxy formation and evolution. She led the ACS Nearby Galaxy Survey Treasury (ANGST) and is leading the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT) programs on the Hubble Space Telescope. She became known worldwide by her discovery of the comet C/1999 F2 Dalcanton. She is also a contributor to the physics blog Cosmic Variance. In 2018, Professor Dalcanton was awarded
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Lia Halloran


, cliché-verre prints), delves deep into the universe to explore the mystery between the known and unknown. Her collection references the scientific discoveries of deep sky objects, classified and catalogued by French astronomer, Charles Messier (1730–1817). As Messier translated his observations into reproductions, Halloran illustrates her own response to the 110 astronomical findings. While in a more simple pursuit of comets, Messier's unexpected observations were far greater, discovering whole galaxies and interstellar nebulae. In a similarly exploratory fashion, Halloran's procedure is largely
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Naming of comets


Comet 1969i became Comet 1970 II (it was the second comet to pass perihelion in 1970) Increasing numbers of comet discoveries made this procedure awkward, as did the delay between discovery and perihelion passage before the permanent name could be assigned. As a result, in 1994 the International Astronomical Union approved a new naming system. Comets are now designated by the year of their discovery followed by a letter indicating the half-month of the discovery and a number indicating the order of discovery (a system similar to that already used for
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Črni Vrh Observatory


camera that will increase sensitivity of the imaging system, enabling discoveries of even fainter objects. The new camera has been in operation since October 2011. Members of the Department of Physics, Astronomical Observatory, of the University of Ljubljana, used the site for observations with their S-C telescope during the period 1994–2009. On 18 August 2008, the amateur astronomer Stanislav Matičič discovered the comet C/2008 Q1 (Matičič), the first comet discovered in this observatory and in Slovenia. On 16 April 2010, the student Jan Vales discovered
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Astronomer


An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets, and galaxies – in either observational (by analyzing the data) or theoretical astronomy. Examples of topics or fields astronomers study include planetary science, solar astronomy, the origin or evolution of stars, or the formation of galaxies. Related but distinct subjects like physical cosmology, which studies the Universe as a whole. Astronomers
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Thomas Bopp


Thomas Joel Bopp (October 15, 1949 – January 5, 2018) was an American amateur astronomer best known as the co-discoverer of comet Hale–Bopp (with Alan Hale) in 1995. At the time of the comet discovery he was a manager at a construction materials factory and an amateur astronomer. On the night of July 22, Bopp was observing the sky with friends in the Arizona desert when he made the discovery. It was the first comet he had observed and he was using a borrowed, home
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Astronomical Institute of Slovak Academy of Sciences


Lomnický štít (2632 m) has been active since 1960. It is equipped with a 20 cm coronograph and a spectrograph. In the headquarters of the astronomical institute at Tatranská Lomnica a 60 cm reflector and a solar horizontal spectrograph are located. The astronomical institute participated on discoveries of the following comets: Five astronomers participated in the discoveries: Antonín Mrkos, Ľudmila Pajdušáková, Ľubor Kresák, Antonín Bečvář and Margita Kresáková. From 70 comets discovered worldwide between 1946–1959, 18 were discovered from the observatories at Skalnaté Pleso and Lomnický štít.
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Richard Martin West


Richard Martin West (born 1941) is a Danish astronomer and discoverer of astronomical objects with a long career at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and at the International Astronomical Union (IAU). He discovered numerous comets, including Comet West (C/1975 V1), which was one of the brightest comets of the 1970s, and the periodic comets 76P/West–Kohoutek–Ikemura and 123P/West–Hartley. He is also credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of 40 minor planets between 1976 and 1986
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Pamela M. Kilmartin


Pamela M. Kilmartin is a New Zealand astronomer and a co-discoverer of minor planets and comets. She is credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of 41 asteroids, all in collaboration with her husband, the astronomer Alan C. Gilmore. Both astronomers are also active comet-hunters. She is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand (RASNZ) and co-director of its "Comets and Minor Planets" section. The minor planet 3907 Kilmartin, discovered by Max Wolf in 1904, was named
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Astronomical naming conventions


have been discovered by instruments operated by large teams of astronomers, and in this case, comets may be named for the instrument (for example, Comet IRAS–Araki–Alcock (C/1983 H1) was discovered independently by the IRAS satellite and amateur astronomers Genichi Araki and George Alcock). Comet 105P/Singer Brewster, discovered by Stephen Singer-Brewster, should by rights have been named "105P/Singer-Brewster", but this could be misinterpreted as a joint discovery by two astronomers named Singer and Brewster, respectively
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Comet Hyakutake


discovered comet C/1995 Y1 several weeks earlier. While re-observing his first comet (which never became visible to the naked eye) and the surrounding patch of sky, Hyakutake was surprised to find another comet in almost the same position as the first had been. Hardly believing a second discovery so soon after the first, Hyakutake reported his observation to the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan the following morning. Later that day, the discovery was confirmed by independent observations. At the time of its discovery, the comet was shining at
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Gao Xing


. In the night on February 26, 2009, he discovered a nova in Sagittarius in the Galaxy's central part at night with his partner Sun Guoyou from Wenzhou. Gao reported his new discovery to the International Astronomical Union on May 29 and acquired the identification.In the night on October 3, 2010, he discovered a new Supernova in NGC5430 at night with his partner Sun Guoyou.He also discovered several SOHO comets and NEAT Asteroids. Currently, he is working as a physics teacher at the Urumqi No.1 High School.
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Johann Elert Bode


also published another small star atlas, intended for astronomical amateurs ("Vorstellung der Gestirne"). He is credited with the discovery of Bode's Galaxy (M81). Comet Bode (C/1779 A1) is named after him; its orbit was calculated by Erik Prosperin. Asteroid 998 Bodea, discovered on 6 August 1923 by Karl Reinmuth at Heidelberg, was also christened in his honour, the letter 'a' added to its name to fulfil the convention that asteroids were given feminine names. His name became attached to the
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1373 Cincinnati


1373 Cincinnati, provisional designation , is an asteroid in a comet-like orbit from the Cybele region, located at the outermost rim of the asteroid belt, approximately in diameter. It was the only asteroid discovery made by famous American astronomer Edwin Hubble, while observing distant galaxies at Mount Wilson Observatory in California on 30 August 1935. The rather spherical X-type asteroid has a rotation period of 5.3 hours. It was named for the Cincinnati Observatory. "Cincinnati" orbits the Sun in the outermost asteroid belt at a distance
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Space Place at Carter Observatory


War II. It is regarded as the fifth observatory in Wellington, and was built on the site of the previous Wellington City Observatory nicknamed "The Tin Shed." Over the following decades, Carter Observatory became a base for astronomical research in New Zealand. Research began with solar investigations, and when new staff joined during the 1970s it expanded to variable stars, galaxies, comets and asteroids. The Observatory ran formal research programmes and assisted amateur astronomers in performing their own research. The Carter Observatory became New Zealand's National Observatory
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Caroline Herschel


Sister's Comet." Caroline Herschel is often credited as the first woman to discover a comet; however, Maria Kirch discovered a comet in the early 1700s, but is often overlooked because at the time, the discovery was attributed to her husband, Gottfried Kirch. She wrote a letter to the Astronomer Royal to announce the discovery of her second comet. The third comet was discovered on 7 January 1790, and the fourth one on 17 April 1790. She announced both of these to Sir Joseph Banks, and all were
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Naming of comets


later; the discoveries were made independently and so both are honoured in the name. In recent years many comets have been discovered by large teams of astronomers, in this case comets may be named for the collaboration or instrument they used. For example, 160P/LINEAR was discovered by the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) team. Comet IRAS–Araki–Alcock was discovered independently by a team using the Infrared Astronomy Satellite (IRAS) and the amateur astronomers Genichi Araki and George Alcock. In the past,
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C/2010 X1 (Elenin)


Comet C/2010 X1 (Elenin) is an Oort cloud comet discovered by Russian amateur astronomer Leonid Elenin on December 10, 2010, through remote control of the International Scientific Optical Network's robotic observatory near Mayhill in the U.S. state of New Mexico. The discovery was made using the automated asteroids discovery program CoLiTec. At the time of discovery, the comet had an apparent magnitude of 19.5, making it about 150,000 times fainter than can be seen with the naked eye. The discoverer, Leonid Elenin, originally estimated that the comet nucleus
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William Herschel


August 1782 to 5 February 1787. Five of her comets were published in "Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society". William was even summoned to Windsor Castle to demonstrate Caroline's comet to the royal family. William recorded this phenomenon himself, terming it "My Sister's Comet." She wrote letters to the Astronomer Royal to announce the discovery of her second comet, and wrote to Joseph Banks upon the discovery of her third and fourth comets. The "Catalogue of stars taken from Mr Flamsteed's observations" contained an
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William Frederick Denning


Academy of Sciences for 1895. He won the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1898. He won the Donohoe Comet Medal for his July 23, 1890 discovery of a comet. He also directed the British Astronomical Association’s Comet (1891-1893) and Meteor (1899-1900) Sections. From 1869 Denning held the combined post of secretary and treasurer of the short-lived Observing Astronomical Society. During his life, Denning published 1179 articles in prominent scientific journals including "Nature", "The Observatory"
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Astronomical naming conventions


perihelion passage, consisting of the year followed by a Roman numeral. For example, Comet Bennett (1969i) became 1970 II. Increasing numbers of comet discoveries made this procedure difficult to operate, and in 2003 the IAU's Committee on Small Body Nomenclature approved a new naming system, and in 2004 the IAU approved a new designation system. Comets are now designated by the year of their discovery followed by a letter indicating the half-month of the discovery (A denotes the first half of January, B denotes the second
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Tsutomu Seki


Tsutomu Seki is the Director of the Geisei Observatory in Kōchi, and in charge of the Comet Section of the Oriental Astronomical Association. Between 1961 and 1970, he had visually discovered six comets, including the celebrated bright C/1965 S1 (Ikeya-Seki). He has also discovered a large number of asteroids such as 13553 Masaakikoyama and , a near-Earth Amor asteroid and a Jupiter trojan, respectively. Many of his discoveries are named after famous sites in Kōchi, such as Harimaya-bashi, Ryōma (after Sakamoto Ryōma
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Comet White–Ortiz–Bolelli


comet from his cockpit, and reported a magnitude of 0.5 to 1.0 and a tail about 5–8° long. A few hours later, Carlos Bolelli, a technician at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile became the third independent discoverer of the comet, although he saw only the tail, as the head was beneath the horizon. Numerous independent discoveries were made in the days immediately following the comet's discovery, but astronomical naming conventions only allowed the comet to be given the names of the first three. All sightings
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Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9


-periodic comets, which use a different nomenclature. The discovery was announced in IAU Circular 5725 on March 26, 1993. The discovery image gave the first hint that comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 was an unusual comet, as it appeared to show multiple nuclei in an elongated region about 50 arcseconds long and 10 arcseconds wide. Brian G. Marsden of the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams noted that the comet lay only about 4 degrees from Jupiter as seen from Earth, and that although this could of course be a line of sight
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Uranus


] Nebulous star or perhaps a comet." On 17 March he noted: "I looked for the Comet or Nebulous Star and found that it is a Comet, for it has changed its place." When he presented his discovery to the Royal Society, he continued to assert that he had found a comet, but also implicitly compared it to a planet: Herschel notified the Astronomer Royal Nevil Maskelyne of his discovery and received this flummoxed reply from him on 23 April 1781: "I don't know what to call
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Comet Holmes


ball around the comet) expanded to a diameter greater than that of the Sun (although its mass remained minuscule). Comet Holmes was discovered by Edwin Holmes on November 6, 1892, while he was conducting regular observations of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31). Its discovery in 1892 was possible because of an increase in its magnitude similar to the 2007 outburst; it brightened to an approximate magnitude of 4 or 5 before fading from visibility over a period of several weeks. The comet's discovery was confirmed by Edward Walter Maunder
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Alan Hale (astronomer)


Alan Hale (born 1958) is an American professional astronomer, best known for his co-discovery of Comet Hale–Bopp along with amateur astronomer Thomas Bopp. Hale specializes in the study of sun-like stars and the search for extra-solar planetary systems, and has side interests in the fields of comets and near-Earth asteroids. He has been an active astronomer most of his life and currently serves as the president of the Earthrise Institute, which he founded, and which has as its mission the use of
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Paul Wild (Swiss astronomer)


, near Bern, Wild made his first cometary discovery C/1957 U1 (1957 IX) on 2 October 1957. The parabolic comet was later named "Latyshev-Wild–Burnham". Professor Wild became director of the Astronomical Institute of the University of Bern in 1980, and remained in this position until 1991. He died on 2 July 2014 at the age of 88 in Bern. During countless nights Wild observed the skies at the Zimmerwald Observatory near Bern and discovered numerous asteroids, comets and supernovae including: The best known discovery
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Citizen science


, amateur astronomers observe a variety of celestial objects and phenomena sometimes with equipment that they build themselves. Common targets of amateur astronomers include the Moon, planets, stars, comets, meteor showers, and a variety of deep-sky objects such as star clusters, galaxies, and nebulae. Observations of comets and stars are also used to measure the local level of artificial skyglow. One branch of amateur astronomy, amateur astrophotography, involves the taking of photos of the night sky. Many amateurs like to specialize in the observation of
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Whirlpool Galaxy


observed by professional astronomers, who study it to understand galaxy structure (particularly structure associated with the spiral arms) and galaxy interactions. What later became known as the Whirlpool Galaxy was discovered on October 13, 1773, by Charles Messier while hunting for objects that could confuse comet hunters, and was designated in Messier's catalogue as M51. Its companion galaxy, NGC 5195, was discovered in 1781 by Pierre Méchain, although it was not known whether it was interacting or merely another galaxy passing at a distance. In 1845,
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Solar and Heliospheric Observatory


of all known comets have been spotted by "SOHO", discovered over the last 15 years by over 70 people representing 18 different countries searching through the publicly available SOHO images online. Michał Kusiak of the Polish Jagiellonian University (Uniwersytet Jagielloński) discovered SOHO's 1999th and 2000th comets on 26 December 2010. SOHO has discovered over 2700 comets April 2014, with an average discovery rate of every 2.59 days. In September 2015, SOHO discovered its 3000th comet. Amateur astronomer Mike Oates' discovery of over 140 comets in the SOHO
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William Robert Brooks


in the discovery of comets, including periodic comets 12P/Pons-Brooks and 16P/Brooks. He also discovered the bright naked-eye comet C/1911 O1 (Brooks), and was a pioneer of astrophotography. In his life, Brooks received medals from the Lick Observatory, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, the International Jury at the St. Louis Exhibition, the Astronomical Society of Mexico, and the Lalande Medal of the French Academy of Sciences in 1899. Brooks was also appointed a Professor and Honorary Doctor of Science by
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Paolo Maffei


Paolo Maffei (2 January 1926 – 1 March 2009) was an Italian astrophysicist and science writer. He was born in Arezzo and was director of the Catania Observatory and an astronomer at Arcetri, Bologna, Asiago and Hamburg. He studied comets, variable stars, galaxies and the evolution of the universe. An internationally renowned astronomer, he was one of the pioneers of infrared astronomy research. In 1968 he discovered through infrared analysis two galaxies, otherwise unobservable because their light emission in the visible frequencies is absorbed by the dust that
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Abell 2667


Abell 2667 is a galaxy cluster. It is one of the most luminous galaxy clusters in the X-ray waveband known at a redshift about 0.2. This cluster is also a well-known gravitational lens. On 2 March 2007, a team of astronomers reported the detection of the Comet Galaxy in this cluster. This galaxy is being ripped apart by the cluster's gravitational field and harsh environment. The finding sheds light on the mysterious process by which gas-rich spiral-shaped galaxies might evolve into gas-poor irregular-
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Comet Hale–Bopp


. I mean, by the time that telegram got here, Alan Hale had already e-mailed us three times with updated coordinates." The following morning, it was confirmed that this was a new comet, and it was given the designation C/1995 O1. The discovery was announced in International Astronomical Union circular 6187. Hale–Bopp's orbital position was calculated as 7.2 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun, placing it between Jupiter and Saturn and by far the greatest distance from Earth at which a comet had been
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C/2009 R1


C/2009 R1, one of more than fifty comets known as Comet McNaught, is a non-periodic comet discovered by British-Australian astronomer Robert H. McNaught on September 9, 2009, using the Uppsala Southern Schmidt Telescope at Siding Spring Observatory in New South Wales, Australia. The discovery was confirmed the same day at the Optical Ground Station telescope at Tenerife. After the discovery, earlier images of the comet were found from July 20, August 1, and August 18, 2009. It is believed C/2009 R1 will leave the
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Abiogenesis


discovery of extraterrestrial sugar increases the likelihood that life may exist elsewhere in our galaxy. NASA announced in 2009 that scientists had identified another fundamental chemical building block of life in a comet for the first time, glycine, an amino acid, which was detected in material ejected from comet Wild 2 in 2004 and grabbed by NASA's "Stardust" probe. Glycine has been detected in meteorites before. Carl Pilcher, who leads the NASA Astrobiology Institute commented that "The discovery of glycine in a comet supports the idea that the fundamental
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Comet Man


dad tells him that he has one son, he becomes enraged and arranges an accident that kills him. Stephen Beckley had become an astronomer and astrophysicist. He has a son Benny, by way of Ann. They run the Edmon project, which investigates astronomical incidents. Stephen pilots a craft through a tail of a comet and meets Max, a being from the so-called Colony Fortisque. Max claims his race is responsible for starting evolution on Earth and other planets in the Milky Way Galaxy. However, Max had accidentally
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Astronomical spectroscopy


of galaxies look similar to stellar spectra, as they consist of the combined light of billions of stars. Doppler shift studies of galaxy clusters by Fritz Zwicky in 1937 found that the galaxies in a cluster were moving much faster than seemed to be possible from the mass of the cluster inferred from the visible light. Zwicky hypothesized that there must be a great deal of non-luminous matter in the galaxy clusters, which became known as dark matter. Since his discovery, astronomers have determined that a large portion of galaxies (and
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Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9


an extremely high probability that SL9 would collide with Jupiter in July 1994. Studies suggested that the train of nuclei would plow into Jupiter's atmosphere over a period of about five days. The discovery that the comet was likely to collide with Jupiter caused great excitement within the astronomical community and beyond, as astronomers had never before seen two significant Solar System bodies collide. Intense studies of the comet were undertaken, and as its orbit became more accurately established, the possibility of a collision became a certainty. The collision would provide a
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Comet IRAS–Araki–Alcock


on 22 March 2016) The comet was named after its discoverers – the Infrared Astronomical Satellite and two amateur astronomers, George Alcock of the United Kingdom and Genichi Araki of Japan (both men were schoolteachers by profession, although Alcock was retired). Alcock had made his discovery simply by observing through the window of his home, using binoculars. During the closest approach the comet appeared as a circular cloud about the size of the full moon, having no discernible tail, and shining at a naked eye magnitude of 3–4. It
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Holger Thiele


Holger Thiele (September 25, 1878 – June 5, 1946) was a Danish American astronomer and discoverer of minor planets and comets. He was the son of Thorvald Nicolai Thiele (1838–1910), the noted Danish astronomer, actuary and mathematician, after whom the main-belt asteroid 1586 Thiele is named. Holger Thiele is credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of 4 numbered asteroids during 1914–1916. He also discovered the comet C/1906 V1 and calculated the orbits of other comets. He worked at Hamburg-Bergedorf Observatory
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John Grigg (astronomer)


1887. In all, he had six sons and three daughters by his three wives. The 1874 transit of Venus awakened his interest in astronomy, which he pursued full-time starting in 1894. He began systematic searches for comets in that year. He is best known for his co-discovery of the periodic comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup in 1902, which was his first discovery of a new comet. Wayne Orchiston, "John Grigg, and the genesis of cometary astronomy in New Zealand", JBAA 103 (
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Comet Hale–Bopp


still exists over whether such observations can only be explained by a binary nucleus. The discovery of the satellite was not confirmed by other observations. Also, while comets have been observed to break up before, no case had been found of a stable binary nucleus until the subsequent discovery of . Given the very small mass of this comet, the orbit of the binary nucleus would be easily disrupted by the gravity of the Sun and planets. In November 1996, amateur astronomer Chuck Shramek (1950–2000) of Houston, Texas took a
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Christine Wilson (scientist)


while working for the summer as part of the Palomar Sky Survey, Wilson discovered a comet on August 5 while examining a photographic plate of a field of faint galaxies. She was 24 years old at the time of her discovery. Following convention, upon confirmation of her discovery, the comet was named Comet Wilson (1987VII). Wilson attended the California Institute of Technology where she graduated with a PhD in Astronomy in 1990.. In 1992, Wilson moved to McMaster University where she is currently a University Distinguished Professor. Her research
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William Napier (astronomer)


him as "a leading figure in the dynamics and physics of comets, and a pioneer of the modern versions of catastrophism." And honorary professor at the Buckingham Centre for Astrobiology, University of Buckingham, which describes him as, "a pioneer of modern studies of the impact hazard due to asteroids and comets," and also as having, "carried out an investigation of long-running claims of anomalous QSO/galaxy associations." His research work focuses on comets and cosmology. The result of his collaboration with Victor
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Comet Hale–Bopp


on August 7, 2012, at a 33.2 AU distance from the Sun. Astronomers expect that the comet will remain observable with large telescopes until perhaps 2020, by which time it will be nearing 30th magnitude. By this time it will become very difficult to distinguish the comet from the large numbers of distant galaxies of similar brightness. The comet likely made its previous perihelion 4,200 years ago, in July 2215 BCE. The estimated closest approach to Earth was 1.4 AU, and it may have been observed in ancient Egypt during the
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Comet of 1729


a new comet. News of the discovery was passed to Jacques Cassini in Paris. He was able to confirm the comet's position, though with extreme surprise at how little it had moved since the first observation nearly a month previously. Cassini was able to continue observation until 18 January 1730, by which time the comet was located in Vulpecula. This was an extraordinarily long period for observation of a comet, though it never rose above apparent magnitude 3–4, about the brightness of the Andromeda Galaxy. The comet's orbit,
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Astronomical naming conventions


comets also have a number indicating the order of their discovery. Thus Bennett's comet has the systematic designation C/1969 Y1. Halley's Comet, the first comet to be identified as periodic, has the systematic name 1P/1682 Q1. Comet Hale–Bopp's systematic name is C/1995 O1. The famous Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 was the ninth periodic comet jointly discovered by Carolyn Shoemaker, Eugene Shoemaker, and David Levy (the Shoemaker–Levy team has also discovered four non-periodic comets interspersed with the periodic ones), but
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C/1760 A1


The Great Comet of 1760 (C/1760 A1) was first seen on 7 January 1760 by Abbe Chevalier at Lisbon. Charles Messier also spotted the comet on 8 January 1760 in Paris, by the sword of Orion. The comet was his third discovery and the comet was the 51st to have a calculated orbit. Messier observed the comet for a total of 6 days. It approached the Earth to within approximately 0.0682 astronomical unit (AU) or 6.34 million miles. This is the 17th closest approach by a comet of all time
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Alan Hale (astronomer)


history, and the brightest comet seen since Comet West in 1976, appearing 1000 times brighter than Comet Halley did at the same distance. When the comet was at the peak of its brightness, Hale says he was giving talks about the comet in big cities with light-polluted night skies, so he did not get a chance "to see it all that much when it was really bright." Regarding the press conference of the comet’s discovery, Hale praised the reporting done by “the very first reporter that broke
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Kamil Hornoch


at the Ondřejov Observatory. In the summer of 2002, Hornoch took a series of pictures of the surrounding of the core of the Andromeda Galaxy and discovered his first extragalactic nova. Since that time, galaxy M31 has become his favourite place to observe; he has made 43 nova discoveries and co-discoveries in that region (as of May 2007). He also discovered two novae in the galaxy M81 in pictures taken by Czech astronomer Pavel Cagaš with his reflector telescope on 8 and 11 April 2007. No nova discovery had
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Comet Swift–Tuttle


magnitude 0.1. Observation was also recorded in 69 BC, and it was probably visible to the naked eye in 322 BC. In the discovery year of 1862, the comet was as bright as Polaris. The comet made a return appearance in 1992, when it was rediscovered by Japanese astronomer Tsuruhiko Kiuchi and became visible with binoculars. In 2126 it will be a bright naked-eye comet reaching about apparent magnitude 0.7. After the 1862 observations it was thought that the comet would return between 1979 and 1983, but it did
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Astronomical naming conventions


its order of discovery in that year (e.g. the first Comet Bennett is 1969i, the 9th comet discovered in 1969). In 1987, more than 26 comets were discovered, so the alphabet was used again with a "1" subscript, very much like what is still done with asteroids (an example is Comet Skorichenko–George, 1989e1). The record year was 1989, which went as high as 1989h1. Once an orbit had been established, the comet was given a permanent designation in order of time of
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Astronomical naming conventions


Half of January, C denotes the first half of February, D denotes the second half of February, etcetera) and a number indicating the order of discovery. To exemplify, the fourth comet discovered in the second half of February 2006 would be designated 2006 D4. "I" and "Z" are not used when describing the half of a particular month the comet was discovered. Prefixes are also added to indicate the nature of the comet, with P/ indicating a periodic comet, C/ indicating a non-periodic comet
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Terry Lovejoy


(Lovejoy) using the modified camera. On 27 November 2011, with his discovery of C/2011 W3 (Lovejoy), he became the first astronomer in over 40 years to discover a Kreutz Sungrazing comet from a ground-based observation. The discovery was made using a Celestron Schmidt–Cassegrain telescope working at f/2.1 with a QHY9 CCD camera. On 7 September 2013, Lovejoy discovered comet C/2013 R1 (Lovejoy) which became visible to the naked eye in November 2013. On 17 August 2014, Lovejoy discovered comet C/2014 Q2 (
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Jean-Louis Pons


in assisting the astronomers with observations. He learned to make observations himself, showing a remarkable ability to remember star fields and note changes in them. In his early astronomical career, the unassuming and trusting Pons was often the target of jokes perpetrated by more experienced astronomers. Franz Xaver von Zach once advised him to look for comets when sunspots were visible, though in doing so Zach may have inadvertently given Pons very good advice. Pons made his first comet discovery, jointly attributed to Charles Messier, on 11 July 1801. He
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Cosmos Redshift 7


produced during early galaxy formation. These signatures were detected in a bright pocket of blue stars; the rest of the galaxy contains redder Population II stars. Galaxy Cosmos Redshift 7 contains old Population II (metal-poor) and Population III (extremely metal-poor) stars, according to astronomers, and is three times brighter than the brightest distant galaxies (redshift, z  6) detected up to the time of its discovery. Astronomers led by David Sobral, a Reader in Astrophysics at the University of Lancaster, used the
3430943
Hermann Goldschmidt


and he was made a chevalier of the Légion d'honneur in 1857. By the time of his final discovery in May 1861, the Royal Astronomical Society had awarded him the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society for the discovery of 13 asteroids. At that point, the second most successful astronomers John Russell Hind and Robert Luther had each discovered 10. Goldschmidt combined his abilities as a painter with his love for astronomy as exemplified by his paintings of the Great Comet of 1858 and of the solar eclipse he observed in Spain July 1860
14593054
Thomas Bopp


and said, "What's this other object?" Stevens replied, "You might have something there, Tom." Bopp later described what he saw as "a little fuzzy glow" which he initially believed to be a galaxy. On the same night, professional astronomer and experienced comet observer Alan Hale had spotted the same thing at his home in Cloudcroft, New Mexico, while he was killing time waiting for Comet d'Arrest to appear. Bopp, on the other hand, had never seen a comet before. Bopp
3298744
Comet Hyakutake


orbital period was about 17,000 years, but the gravitational perturbation of the giant planets has increased this period to 70,000 years. The comet was discovered on 30 January 1996, by Yuji Hyakutake, an amateur astronomer from southern Japan. He had been searching for comets for years and had moved to Kagoshima Prefecture partly for the dark skies in nearby rural areas. He was using a powerful set of binoculars with objective lenses to scan the skies on the night of the discovery. This comet was actually the second Comet Hyakutake; Hyakutake had
13084751
50P/Arend


Comet Arend or 50P/Arend is a periodic comet in the Solar System which was discovered on October 4, 1951. It was discovered by astronomer Sylvain Julien Victor Arend at the Royal Observatory of Belgium located in the municipality of Uccle. The comet was illustrated at approximately a magnitude of 14 and also exhibited a nucleus within a coma 14 arc seconds across. From its discovery, the comet has had 7 perihelions with its last return of Earth recorded on November 1, 2007. The comet's next perihelion will be in the
14180691
Great Comet of 1882


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. The first astronomer to record observations of the comet was W. H. Finlay, the Chief Assistant at the Royal Observatory in Cape Town, South Africa. Finlay's observation on 7 September at 16h GMT was also an independent discovery, and he reported that the comet had an apparent magnitude of about 3, and a tail about a degree in length. The comet brightened rapidly, and within
14398252
Jérôme Eugène Coggia


Jérôme Eugène Coggia (18 February 1849 – 15 January 1919) was a 19th-century French astronomer and discoverer of asteroids and comets, who was born in the Corsican town of Ajaccio. Working at the Marseille Observatory from 1866 to 1917, Coggia discovered a number of comets, including the bright "Coggia's Comet" (C/1874 H1). The periodic comet 27P/Crommelin was previously called "Comet Pons-Coggia-Winnecke-Forbes". He is also credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of 5
17187010
Dmitry Chestnov


Dmitry Nikolayevich Chestnov (also known as Dmitrij Nikolaevič Čestnov; ) is a Russian astronomer, observer and photometrist of comets and discoverer of minor planets. He lives in Saransk, the capital city of the Republic of Mordovia, Russia. He is credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of several minor planets during 2009–2010, all in collaboration with Russian astronomer and college Artyom Novichonok at Tzec Maun Observatory in Mayhill, New Mexico. According to the "Comet Observation database" (COBS), which is maintained by the Slovenian
4398333
Comet Hale–Bopp


had an apparent magnitude of 10.5 and lay near the globular cluster M70 in the constellation of Sagittarius. Hale first established that there was no other deep-sky object near M70, and then consulted a directory of known comets, finding that none were known to be in this area of the sky. Once he had established that the object was moving relative to the background stars, he emailed the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams, the clearing house for astronomical discoveries. Bopp did not own a telescope. He was out with friends
7478328
Uranus


a planet rather than a comet. Berlin astronomer Johann Elert Bode described Herschel's discovery as "a moving star that can be deemed a hitherto unknown planet-like object circulating beyond the orbit of Saturn". Bode concluded that its near-circular orbit was more like a planet's than a comet's. The object was soon universally accepted as a new planet. By 1783, Herschel acknowledged this to Royal Society president Joseph Banks: "By the observation of the most eminent Astronomers in Europe it appears that the new star
866385
William A. Bradfield


18th and final comet discovery coming on 23 March 2004 when he was 76 years old. When Bradfield discovered a comet and communicated it to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), it kicked off worldwide action. Within 14 hours of reporting his 17th comet in 1995, it had been observed by more than 20 observers, including the European Southern Observatory (ESO) 1-meter Schmidt telescope at La Silla, Chile. His discoveries were particularly notable because he worked alone to discover them, using old and home-made telescopic equipment.
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Satellite galaxy


using the equation above it is possible to estimate the time that it takes for a satellite galaxy to be consumed by the host galaxy. In 1978, pioneering work involving the measurement of the colors of merger remnants by the astronomers Beatrice Tinsley and Richard Larson gave rise to the notion that mergers enhance star formation. Their observations showed that an anomalous blue color was associated with the merger remnants. Prior to this discovery, astronomers had already classified stars (see stellar classifications) and it was known that young, massive stars were bluer
12479239
Comet Arend–Roland


it was the first comet reported as discovered in the half-month designated by "R". The last is equivalent to the period September 1–15. In November 1956, a double astrograph at the Uccle Observatory in Brussels was being used for routine investigation of minor planets. On November 8, 1956, the Belgian astronomers Sylvain Arend and Georges Roland discovered a comet on their photographic plates. At that time the comet was at visual magnitude 10, with a strong central condensation and a short tail. The early discovery of this
14398295
P/1997 B1 (Kobayashi)


On January 30 and January 31, 1997, Takao Kobayashi observed an object, P/1997 B1 (Kobayashi), which was initially thought to be a minor planet and was reported to the IAU as such by S. Nakano. Over the next few days, the object was observed to be in a cometary orbit. W. Offutt later showed it to be a comet. For discovery of a comet with CCD, as well as the faintest discovery, Kobayashi ranks the first among amateur astronomers. It demonstrates that they still have an important
17769881
Alan Hale (astronomer)


the story of the comet’s discovery,” the Albuquerque Journal’s science reporter John Fleck: As an example of the media getting it wrong, Hale told this story: Historically linked to the discovery and first recorded appearance of Hale–Bopp is Heaven's Gate. This was a religious cult in San Diego, California led by Marshall Applewhite who preached that an alien spacecraft was following Comet Hale–Bopp. The cult members believed that transporting their souls to the spacecraft and evacuating the Earth – which was soon to be "
3298812
Perth Observatory


the analysis of the lost comet Gale, as well as comparison of a South Australian comet discovered in 1979 with that of a comet from 1770. In 1960 he discovered Comet Candy 1960n and was the first Astronomer to discover, as well as compute, a comets orbit from two more observations within 60 hours of its discovery. Mr M P Candy officially retired on 24 December 1993 and died 2 November 1994. His work was honored by the naming of Minor Planet 3015 Candy in 1980. Dr James D Biggs commenced at the
18553694
Caroline Herschel


discovered with her 1783 telescope. In 1791, Caroline began to use a 9-inch telescope for her comet-searching, and discovered three more comets with this instrument. Her fifth comet was discovered on 15 December 1791 and the sixth on 7 October 1795. Caroline wrote in her journal during this time "My brother wrote an account of it to Sir J. Banks, Dr. Maskelyne, and to several astronomical correspondents" for the discovery of her fifth comet. Two years later, her eighth and last comet was discovered on 6 August
282220
Peninsula House and Tebbutt's Observatory


he was the first to discover the "Great Comet of 1861", announcing his discovery of one of the finest comets on record. In 1862 he refused the position of Government Astronomer for New South Wales because it meant leaving Windsor. In either 1863 or 1864, John Tebbutt erected a small round wooden observatory in the garden (since demolished). A second circular structure was built in 1874 and in 1879 he built a second, larger circular observatory close to the old one. Tebbutt was a private astronomer and a fellow
10406767
Erwin Obermair


discoveries to the observatory Davidschlag by the International Astronomical Union. Obermair was a member of the Astronomical Society of Linz ("Linzer Astronomische Gemeinschaft"), from 1974 until his death he was vice president of that association. His most important observations include precisie astrometry of the comet Shoemaker–Levy 9, which he observerd together with Erich Meyer and Herbert Raab in 1993. These observations have significantly contributed to the subsequent prediction of the impact of this comet on the planet Jupiter. On 4 April 1997, Obermair was presented the Decoration
18314703
Caroline Herschel


Caroline Lucretia Herschel (; 16 March 1750 – 9 January 1848) was a German astronomer, whose most significant contributions to astronomy were the discoveries of several comets, including the periodic comet 35P/Herschel–Rigollet, which bears her name. She was the younger sister of astronomer William Herschel, with whom she worked throughout her career. She was the first woman to receive a salary as a scientist. She was the first woman in England to hold a government position. She was the first woman to be awarded a Gold Medal
282200
6P/d'Arrest


, Rome), and Ľubor Kresák and Margita Kresáková (Slovak Astronomical Institute, Bratislava) independently suggested this comet was the same as a comet observed by Philippe de La Hire in 1678. It was first observed by Heinrich Ludwig d'Arrest, in Leipzig, Germany, on 28th and 30 June 1851. The comet nucleus is estimated at about 3.2 km in diameter. 6P/d was one of a trio of comets targeted by the ill-fated CONTOUR mission, an unmanned discovery program mission, that was launched but contact was
14609686
Maria Mitchell


to each discoverer of a "telescopic comet" (too faint to be seen with the naked eye). The prize was to be awarded to the "first discoverer" of each such comet (note that comets are often independently discovered by more than one person). Maria Mitchell won one of these prizes, and this gave her worldwide fame, since the only previous women to discover a comet were the astronomers Caroline Herschel and Maria Margarethe Kirch. Her discovery and recognition by the Danish government legitimized American astronomy in Europe,
16545970
5D/Brorsen


5D/Brorsen (also known as Brorsen's Comet or Comet Brorsen) was a periodic Jupiter-family comet discovered February 26, 1846, by the Danish astronomer Theodor Brorsen. The perihelion of 5D/Brorsen was February 25, just a day before its discovery, and maintained the approach to Earth after that, passing closest to Earth on March 27 (at a distance of 0.52 AU). As a result of this close encounter to Earth the comet's coma diameter increased. Johann Friedrich Julius Schmidt estimated it as 3
9222942
Harvard Computers


cosmological distance. Sadly, Leavitt does not receive as much credit as she deserves. Pickering published her work with his name on it. The legacy she left allowed future scientists to make further discoveries in space. Astronomer Edwin Hubble used Leavitt's information to calculate the distance of the nearest galaxy to the earth, the Andromeda Galaxy. This led to the realization that there are even more galaxies than previously thought. Florence Cushman (1860-1940) was an American astronomer at the Harvard College Observatory who worked on the "Henry
11493061
Amateur astronomy


Amateur astronomy is a hobby where participants enjoy observing or imaging celestial objects in the sky using the unaided eye, binoculars, or telescopes. Even though scientific research may not be their primary goal, some amateur astronomers make contributions in doing citizen science, such as by monitoring variable stars, double stars sunspots, or occultations of stars by the Moon or asteroids, or by discovering transient astronomical events, such as comets, galactic novae or supernovae in other galaxies. Amateur astronomers do not use the field of astronomy as their primary source
217245
Kielder Observatory


by experienced astronomers. Should the skies be clear visitors are encouraged to make observations using the large-aperture instruments of fascinating astronomically-distant objects such as galaxies and nebulae as well as those closer to Earth including planets, the Moon and comets—a chance for everyone to engage in the Universe around them. The observatory is administered by the Kielder Observatory Astronomical Society, a registered charity and comprising a board of Trustees, several permanent members of staff and a large group of enthusiastic volunteers all of whom help run the public events
2585658
Raymond Lyttleton


with F. Hoyle) of numerous papers on the astronomical effects of accretion, and (with H. Bondi) of two on the transmission of the tidal friction couple to the Earth's core and on the behaviour of the core during precessions. Author of a striking new theory of comets. (The Comets and their Origin, 1953)" He won the Royal Society Royal Medal in 1965 ""In recognition of his distinguished contributions to astronomy, particularly for his work on the dynamical stability of galaxies"." He wrote a
10990620
Comet Pojmański


Comet Pojmański is a non-periodic comet discovered by Grzegorz Pojmański on January 2, 2006 and formally designated C/2006 A1. Pojmański discovered the comet at Warsaw University Astronomic Observatory using the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile as part of the All Sky Automated Survey (ASAS). Kazimieras Cernis at the Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astronomy at Vilnius, Lithuania, located it the same night and before the announcement of Pojmański's discovery, in ultraviolet images taken a few days earlier by the SWAN instrument aboard the SOHO satellite. A pre-
20441116
Alexandre Schaumasse


Alexandre Schaumasse (1882–1958) was a French astronomer and discoverer of comets and minor planets. His discoveries include the periodic comet 24P/Schaumasse, and the two non-periodic comets C/1913 J1 (Schaumasse) or 1913 II, and C/1917 H1 (Schaumasse) or 1917 II. He also discovered two asteroids, 971 Alsatia and 1114 Lorraine, in 1921 and 1928, respectively. Gaston Fayet, director of the Observatory in Nice, gave him the responsibility of the "Chercheur de comètes" (Comet finder), a 25
243879
Donald Machholz


Donald Edward Machholz, born October 7, 1952 in Portsmouth, Virginia, is an American amateur astronomer and science writer who is the most successful living visual comet discoverer in history. Credited with the discovery of 12 comets, that include the periodic comets 96P/Machholz, 141P/Machholz, the non-periodic C/2004 Q2 (Machholz) that were visible with binoculars in the northern sky in 2004 and 2005, C/2010 F4 (Machholz), and most recently C/2018 V1 (Machholz-Fujikawa-Iwamoto) In 1985, comet
5911309
Mount Wilson (California)


and lasted until 1936. In 1917, the 100-inch Hooker Telescope was completed and saw first light and would be the world's largest telescope until the opening of the 200-inch Hale Telescope at Palomar Observatory in 1948. In 1919, American astronomer Edwin Hubble arrived at Mt. Wilson and, throughout the 1920s, made many astronomical discoveries using the Hooker Telescope. Among his contributions are the observational proof that many nebulous objects are actually galaxies beyond our own Milky Way galaxy, the classification of galaxies according to the Hubble sequence, and the development
1684874
George K. Miley


sabbatical at Lick Observatory marked his transition from a radio astronomer to a multi-wavelength astronomer, aided by the development of digital astronomical cameras in the 1970s. While researching the "reddest" radio galaxies in the radio and optical regimes, he was involved in the discovery of some of the most distant galaxies known at the time. He expanded his wavelength range further by joining the science team responsible for the infrared satellite IRAS, working on the mission's pioneering deep infrared surveys. After his return to Leiden, Miley combined his
19433842
Horace Parnell Tuttle


was James Ferguson's independent discovery of Comet Tempel 1859, which was also an independent discovery of H. P. Tuttle. In October, 1866 he was assigned to the "Onward", South Atlantic Station. During the next four years he served on the monitors "Guard" and "Terror". On October 23, 1871 Tuttle independently recovered periodic comet 8/P1871 T1 Tuttle at the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, DC. In 1871 Tuttle served under Commodore George Dewey as astronomer on the survey of the coast of lower
14657565
Liisi Oterma


Liisi Oterma () (6 January 1915 – 4 April 2001) was a Finnish astronomer, the first woman to get a Ph.D. degree in astronomy in Finland. She discovered or co-discovered several comets, including periodic comets 38P/Stephan-Oterma, 39P/Oterma and 139P/Väisälä–Oterma. She is also credited by the Minor Planet Center (MPC) with the discovery of 54 minor planets between 1938 and 1953, and ranks 153th on MPC's all-time discovery chart. The Hildian asteroid 1529 Oterma
17186572
Malcolm Hartley


Malcolm Hartley is an English-born astronomer, discoverer of minor planets and comets, who works at the Siding Spring Observatory in Australia. He's best known for his discovery and co-discovery of 10 comets since the 1980s, among them 79P/du Toit-Hartley, 80P/Peters–Hartley, 100P/Hartley, 110P/Hartley, and C/1984 W2. Unfortunately for Hartley, in 2002, "the Anglo-Australian Observatory retrofitted its Schmidt to perform multi-object spectroscopy, essentially halting all astrophotography with the
21394368
Malcolm Hartley


telescope and ending any future possibility for comet discovery". In November 2010, he visited NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory facility in California to witness the "EPOXI" mission flyby of comet 103P/Hartley on 4 November 2010. Hartley is credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of 3 asteroids made at the Siding Spring Observatory between 1996 and 1998, with and being near-Earth objects of the Amor group of asteroids. The outer main-belt asteroid 4768 Hartley was named in his honour, being deputy astronomer of
21394369
Tomáš Vorobjov


Tomáš Vorobjov (; born 1984) is a Slovak amateur astronomer and an observer and discoverer of minor planets, in particular near-Earth objects. He is the director of the IASC Data Reduction Team and is credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of 7 numbered minor planets. In October 2012, Vorobjov discovered 276P/Vorobjov, a periodic comet and his first comet discovery. He also discovered the trans-Neptunian object (TNO) in April 2012. The Florian main-belt asteroid 4858 Vorobjov, discovered by American
5946814
Miguel Hurtado


Miguel Hurtado (born 22 April 1978 in Málaga, Spain) is a Spanish astronomer and a software developer at OAM's La Sagra Observatory, where he participated in the discovery of minor planets, comets, and supernovae. Miguel Hurtado has listed the discovery of more than 2300 asteroids including 76 near-earth objects such as 2012 DA14, as well as 5 comets and 19 supernovae. As of 2017, all numbered asteroids are credited by the Minor Planet Center to Mallorca Observatory, OAM. Jaime Nomen, his college and collaborator
9125569
Boötes void


"supervoid". Its discovery was reported by Robert Kirshner et al. (1981), as part of a survey of galactic redshifts. The center of the Boötes void is approximately 700 million light-years from Earth. Other astronomers soon discovered that the void contained a few galaxies. In 1987, J. Moody, Robert P. Kirshner, G. MacAlpine, and S. Gregory published their findings of eight galaxies in the void. M. Strauss and John Huchra announced the discovery of a further three galaxies in 1988, and Greg Aldering
7145140