Halley's Comet or Comet Halley (officially designated 1P/Halley)[1] is the best-known of the short-period comets, and is visible fromEarth every 75 to 76 years.[1][10] Halley is the only short-period comet that is clearly visible to the naked eye from Earth, and thus the only naked-eye comet that might appear twice in a human lifetime.[11] Other naked-eye comets may be brighter and more spectacular, but will appear only once in thousands of years.
Halley's returns to the inner solar system have been observed and recorded by astronomers since at least 240 BC, and perhaps as early as 466 BC.[12] Clear records of the comet's appearances were made by Chinese, Babylonian, and medieval European chroniclers, but were not recognized as reappearances of the same object at the time. The comet's periodicity was first determined in 1705 by Englishastronomer Edmond Halley, after whom it is now named. Halley's Comet last appeared in the inner Solar System in 1986 and will next appear in mid-2061.[13]
During its 1986 apparition, Halley became the first comet to be observed in detail by spacecraft, providing the first observational data on the structure of a comet nucleus and the mechanism of coma and tail formation.[14][15] These observations supported a number of longstanding hypotheses about comet construction, particularly Fred Whipple's "dirty snowball" model, which correctly surmised that Halley would be composed of a mixture of volatile ices — such as water, carbon dioxide and ammonia — and dust. The missions also provided data which substantially reformed and reconfigured these ideas; for instance it is now understood that Halley's surface is largely composed of dusty, non-volatile materials, and that only a small portion of it is icy.
Halley's Comet or Comet Halley (officially designated 1P/Halley)[1] is the best-known of the short-period comets, and is visible fromEarth every 75 to 76 years.[1][10] Halley is the only short-period comet that is clearly visible to the naked eye from Earth, and thus the only naked-eye comet that might appear twice in a human lifetime.[11] Other naked-eye comets may be brighter and more spectacular, but will appear only once in thousands of years.
Halley's returns to the inner solar system have been observed and recorded by astronomers since at least 240 BC, and perhaps as early as 466 BC.[12] Clear records of the comet's appearances were made by Chinese, Babylonian, and medieval European chroniclers, but were not recognized as reappearances of the same object at the time. The comet's periodicity was first determined in 1705 by Englishastronomer Edmond Halley, after whom it is now named. Halley's Comet last appeared in the inner Solar System in 1986 and will next appear in mid-2061.[13]
During its 1986 apparition, Halley became the first comet to be observed in detail by spacecraft, providing the first observational data on the structure of a comet nucleus and the mechanism of coma and tail formation.[14][15] These observations supported a number of longstanding hypotheses about comet construction, particularly Fred Whipple's "dirty snowball" model, which correctly surmised that Halley would be composed of a mixture of volatile ices — such as water, carbon dioxide and ammonia — and dust. The missions also provided data which substantially reformed and reconfigured these ideas; for instance it is now understood that Halley's surface is largely composed of dusty, non-volatile materials, and that only a small portion of it is icy.
Orbit and origin
Halley's orbital period over the last three centuries has been between 75 and 76 years, though it has varied between 74 and 79 years since 240 BC.[26][30] Its orbit around the Sun is highly elliptical, with an eccentricity of 0.967 (with 0 being a perfect circle and 1 being a parabolic trajectory). The perihelion, the point in the comet's orbit when it is nearest the Sun, is just 0.6 AU[a] (between the orbits of Mercury andVenus), while its aphelion, or farthest distance from the Sun, is 35 AU (roughly the distance of Pluto). Unusually for an object in the Solar System, Halley's orbit is retrograde; it orbits the Sun in the opposite direction to the planets, or clockwise from above the Sun's north pole. The orbit is inclined by 18° to the ecliptic, with much of it lying south of the ecliptic.[31] Due to Halley's highly eccentric orbit, it has one of the highest velocities, relative to the Earth, of any object in the Solar System. The 1910 passage was at a relative velocity of 70.56 km/s (157,838 mph or 254,016 km/h).[32] Because its orbit comes close to Earth's in two places, Halley's Comet is the parent body of two meteor showers: the Eta Aquariids in early May, and the Orionids in late October.[33]
Halley is classified as a periodic or short-period comet; one with an orbit lasting 200 years or less.[34] This contrasts it with long-period comets, whose orbits last for thousands of years. Periodic comets have an average inclination to the ecliptic of only ten degrees, and an orbital period of just 6.5 years, so Halley's orbit is somewhat atypical.[26] Most short-period comets (those with orbital periods shorter than 20 years and inclinations of 20–30 degrees or less) are called Jupiter family comets. Those like Halley, with orbital periods of between 20 and 200 years and inclinations extending from zero to more than 90 degrees, are called Halley-type comets.[34][35] To date, only 54 Halley-type comets have been observed, compared with nearly 400 identified Jupiter family comets.[36]
The orbits of the Halley-type comets suggest that they were originally long-period comets whose orbits were perturbed by the gravity of the giant planets and directed into the inner Solar System.[34] If Halley was once a long-period comet, it is likely to have originated in the Oort Cloud,[35] a sphere of cometary bodies that has an inner edge of 20,000–50,000 AU. Conversely the Jupiter family comets are believed to originate in the Kuiper belt,[35] a flat disc of icy debris between 30 AU (Neptune's orbit) and 50 AU from the Sun (in the scattered disc). Another point of origin for the Halley-type comets has been proposed. In 2008 a new trans-Neptunian object with a retrograde orbit similar to Halley's was discovered. Nicknamed Drac, its orbit takes it from just outside that of Uranus to twice the distance of Pluto. It may be a member of a new population of small Solar System bodies that serves as the source of Halley-type comets.[37]
Halley's Comet has probably been in its current orbit for 16,000 to 200,000 years, although it is not possible to numerically integrate its orbit for more than a few tens of apparitions, and close approaches before 837 AD can only be verified from recorded observations.[38] The non-gravitational effects can be crucial;[38] as Halley approaches the Sun, it expels jets of sublimating gas from its surface, which knock it very slightly off its orbital path. These orbital changes can cause deviations in its perihelion of up to four days.[39]
In 1989, Boris Chirikov and Vitaly Vecheslavov performed an analysis of 46 apparitions of Halley's Comet taken from historical records and computer simulations. These studies showed that its dynamics were chaotic and unpredictable on long timescales.[40] Halley's projected lifetime could be as long as 10 million years. More recent work suggests that Halley will evaporate, or split in two, within the next few tens of thousands of years, or will be ejected from the Solar System within a few hundred thousand years.[35] Observations by D.W. Hughes suggest that Halley's nucleus has been reduced in mass by 80–90% over the last 2000–3000 revolutions.[15]
Prior to 1066
Halley may have been recorded as early as 467 BC, but this is uncertain. A comet was recorded in ancient Greece between 466 and 468 BC; its timing, location, duration, and associated meteor shower all suggest it was Halley. A large meteor the size of a "wagonload" that landed in northern Greece during the comet's apparition was a local attraction for 500 years.[51] Chinese chroniclers also mention a comet in that year.[52]
The first certain appearance of Halley's Comet in the historical record is a description from 240 BC, in the Chinese chronicle Records of the Grand Historian or Shiji, which describes a comet that appeared in the east and moved north.[53] The only surviving record of the 164 BC apparition is found on two fragmentary Babylonian tablets, now owned by the British Museum.[53]
The apparition of 87 BC was recorded in Babylonian tablets which state that the comet was seen "day beyond day" for a month.[54] This appearance may be recalled in the representation of Tigranes the Great, an Armenian king who is depicted on coins with a crown that features, according to V.G. Gurzadyan and R. Vardanyan, "a star with a curved tail [that] may represent the passage of Halley's Comet in 87 BC." Gurzadyan and Vardanyan argue that "Tigranes could have seen Halley's Comet when it passed closest to the Sun on August 6 in 87 BC" as the comet would have been a "most recordable event"; for ancient Armenians it could have heralded the New Era of the brilliant King of Kings.[55]
The apparition of 12 BC was recorded in the Book of Han by Chinese astronomers of the Han Dynasty who tracked it from August through October.[10] It passed within 0.16 AU of the Earth.[56] Halley's appearance in 12 BC, only a few years distant from the conventionally assigneddate of the birth of Jesus Christ, has led some theologians and astronomers to suggest that it might explain the biblical story of the Star of Bethlehem. There are other explanations for the phenomenon, such as planetary conjunctions, and there are also records of other comets that appeared closer to the date of Jesus' birth.[57]
If, as has been suggested, the reference in the Talmud to "a star which appears once in seventy years that makes the captains of the ships err"[58] (see above) refers to Halley's Comet, it may be a reference to the 66 AD appearance, because this passage is attributed to the Rabbi Yehoshua ben Hananiah. This apparition was the only one to occur during ben Hananiah's lifetime.[59]
The 141 AD apparition was recorded in Chinese chronicles.[60] The 374 AD and 607 approaches each came within 0.09 AU of the Earth.[56] The 684 AD apparition was recorded in Europe in one of the sources used by the compiler of the 1493 Nuremberg Chronicles. Chinese records also report it as the "broom star".[61]
In 837, Halley's Comet may have passed as close as 0.03 AU (3.2 million miles; 5.1 million kilometers) from Earth, by far its closest approach.[56] Its tail may have stretched 60 degreesacross the sky. It was recorded by astronomers in China, Japan, Germany and the greater Middle East.[10] In 912, Halley's Comet is recorded in the Annals of Ulster, which state "A dark and rainy year. A comet appeared."[62]
1066
In 1066, the comet was seen in England and thought to be an omen: later that year Harold II of England died at the Battle of Hastings; it was a bad omen for Harold, but a good omen for the man who defeated him, William the Conqueror. The comet is represented on the Bayeux Tapestry as a fiery star, and the surviving accounts describe it as appearing to be four times the size of Venus and shining with a light equal to a quarter of that of the Moon. Halley came within 0.10 AU of the Earth at that time.[56]
This appearance of the comet is also noted in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Eilmer of Malmesbury may have seen Halley previously in 989, as he wrote of it in 1066: "You've come, have you? ... You've come, you source of tears to many mothers, you evil. I hate you! It is long since I saw you; but as I see you now you are much more terrible, for I see you brandishing the downfall of my country. I hate you!"[63]
The Irish Annals of the Four Masters recorded the comet as "A star [that] appeared on the seventh of the Calends of May, on Tuesday after Little Easter, than whose light the brilliance or light of the moon was not greater; and it was visible to all in this manner till the end of four nights afterwards."[62] Chaco Native Americans in New Mexico may have recorded the 1066 apparition in their petroglyphs.[64]
1145–1835
The 1145 apparition was recorded by the monk Eadwine. The 1986 apparition exhibited a fan tail similar to Eadwine's drawing.[61] Some claim that Genghis Khan was inspired to turn his conquests toward Europe by the 1222 apparition.[65] The 1301 apparition may have been seen by the artist Giotto di Bondone, who represented the Star of Bethlehem as a fire-colored comet in the Nativity section of his Arena Chapel cycle, completed in 1305.[61] No record survives of the 1376 apparition.
In 1456, the Ottoman Empire invaded the Balkans, culminating in the Siege of Belgrade in July of that year. In a Papal Bull, Pope Calixtus IIIordered special prayers be said for the city's protection. In 1470 the humanist scholar Bartolomeo Platina wrote in his Lives of the Popes that,[66]
A hairy and fiery star having then made its appearance for several days, the mathematicians declared that there would follow grievous pestilence, dearth and some great calamity. Calixtus, to avert the wrath of God, ordered supplications that if evils were impending for the human race He would turn all upon the Turks, the enemies of the Christian name. He likewise ordered, to move God by continual entreaty, that notice should be given by the bells to call the faithful at midday to aid by their prayers those engaged in battle with the Turk.
Platina's account is not mentioned in official records. In the 18th century, a Frenchman further embellished the story, in anger at the Church, by claiming that the Pope had "excommunicated" Halley's Comet, though this story was most likely his own invention.[67]
After witnessing a bright light in the sky (which most historians have identified as Halley's Comet, visible in Ethiopia in 1456), Emperor Zara Yaqob, ruler from 1434–1468, founded the city of Debre Berhan (tr. City of Light) and made it his capital for the remainder of his reign.[68]
Halley's periodic returns have been subject to scientific investigation since the 16th century. The three apparitions from 1531 to 1682 were noted by Edmond Halley, enabling him to predict its 1759 return. Streams of vapour observed during the comet's 1835 apparition prompted astronomer Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel to propose that the jet forces of evaporating material could be great enough to significantly alter a comet's orbit.[69]
1910
The 1910 approach, which came into view around 20 April, was notable for several reasons: it was the first approach of which photographs exist, and the first for which spectroscopic data were obtained.[14] Furthermore, the comet made a relatively close approach of 0.15AU,[56]making it a spectacular sight. Indeed, on 18 May, the Earth actually passed through the tail of the comet. One of the substances discovered in the tail by spectroscopic analysis was the toxic gas cyanogen,[70] which led astronomer Camille Flammarion to claim that, when Earth passed through the tail, the gas "would impregnate the atmosphere and possibly snuff out all life on the planet."[71] His pronouncement led to panicked buying of gas masks and quack "anti-comet pills" and "anti-comet umbrellas" by the public.[72] In reality, as other astronomers were quick to point out, the gas is so diffuse that the world suffered no ill effects from the passage through the tail.[71]
American satirist and writer Mark Twain was born on 30 November 1835, exactly two weeks after the comet's perihelion. In his autobiography, published in 1909, he said,
I came in with Halley's Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year, and I expect to go out with it. It will be the greatest disappointment of my life if I don't go out with Halley's Comet. The Almighty has said, no doubt: 'Now here are these two unaccountable freaks; they came in together, they must go out together.'[73]
Twain died on 21 April 1910, the day following the comet's subsequent perihelion.[74] The 1985 fantasy film The Adventures of Mark Twain was inspired by the quotation.
Halley's 1910 apparition is distinct from the Great Daylight Comet of 1910, which surpassed Halley in brilliance and was actually visible in broad daylight for a short period, approximately four months before Halley made its appearance.[75][76]
1986
Halley's 1986 apparition was the least favorable on record. The comet and the Earth were on opposite sides of the Sun in February 1986, creating the worst viewing circumstances for Earth observers for the last 2,000 years.[77] Additionally, with increased light pollution from urbanization, many people never saw the comet at all.[78] Further, the comet appeared brightest when it was almost invisible from the northern hemisphere in March and April.[79] Halley's approach was first detected by astronomers David Jewitt and G. Edward Danielson on 16 October 1982 using the 5.1 m Hale telescope at Mount Palomar and a CCD camera.[80] The first person to visually observe the comet on its 1986 return was amateur astronomer Stephen James O'Meara on 24 January 1985. O'Meara used a home-built 24-inch telescope on top of Mauna Kea to detect the magnitude 19.6 comet.[81] On 8 November 1985, Stephen Edberg (then serving as the Coordinator for Amateur Observations atNASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory) and Charles Morris were the first to observe Halley's Comet with the naked eye in its 1986 apparition.[82][83]
The development of space travel allowed scientists the opportunity to study the comet at close quarters, and several probes were launched to do so. The Soviet Vega 1 started returning images of Halley on 4 March 1986, and the first ever of its nucleus,[15] and made its flyby on 6 March, followed by Vega 2 making its flyby on 9 March. On 14 March, the Giotto space probe, launched by the European Space Agency, made the closest pass of the comet's nucleus.[15] There were also two Japanese probes, Suisei and Sakigake. The probes were unofficially known as the Halley Armada.[84]
Based on data retrieved by Astron, the largest ultraviolet space telescope of the time, during its Halley's Comet observations in December 1985, a group of Soviet scientists developed a model of the comet's coma.[85] The comet was also observed from space by the International Cometary Explorer. Originally International Sun-Earth Explorer 3, the probe was renamed and freed from its L1 Lagrangian point location in Earth's orbit to intercept comets 21P/Giacobini-Zinner and Halley.[86]
Two Space Shuttle missions — the ill-fated STS-51-L (ended by the Challenger disaster)[87] and STS-61-E — were scheduled to observe Halley's Comet from low Earth orbit. STS 61-E was a Challenger mission scheduled for March 1986, carrying the ASTRO-1 platform to study the comet.[88] Due to the suspension of America's manned space program after the Challenger explosion, the mission was canceled, and ASTRO-1 would not fly until late 1990 on STS-35.[89]
After 1986
On 12 February 1991, at a distance of 14.4 astronomical units (2.15×109 km) from the Sun, Halley underwent an outburst that lasted for several months, releasing a cloud of dust 300,000 km across.[41] Halley was most recently observed in 2003 by three of the Very Large Telescopes at Paranal, Chile, when Halley's magnitude was 28.2. The telescopes observed Halley, at the faintest and furthest any comet has ever been imaged, in order to verify a method for finding very faint trans-Neptunian objects.[9] Astronomers are now able to observe the comet at any point in its orbit.[9]
The next predicted perihelion of Halley's Comet is 28 July 2061,[2] when it is expected to be better positioned for observation than during the 1985–1986 apparition, as it will be on the same side of the Sun as Earth.[30] It is expected to have an apparent magnitude of −0.3, compared with only +2.1 for the 1986 apparition.[90] On 9 September 2060, Halley has been calculated to pass within 0.98 astronomical units (147,000,000 km) of Jupiter, and then on 20 August 2061, pass within 0.0543 astronomical units (8,120,000 km) of Venus.[91] In 2134, Halley is expected to pass within 0.09 astronomical units (13,000,000 km) of the Earth.[91] Its apparent magnitude is expected to be −2.0.[9