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| '''The Great Comet of 1680''', formally known as '''C/1680 V1'' or ''Kirch's Comet'', has the distinction of being the first ] discovered by ]. Discovered by ] on ], ], it became one of the brightest comets of the ]--reputedly visible even in daytime--and was noted for its spectacularly long tail. Passing only 0.4 ] from ] on November 30, it sped around an incredibly close ] of 0.01 AU (1.5 million ] on ], ], reaching its peak brightness on ] as it rushed outward again. Although it was a undeniably a ], it was probably not part of the ] family. Aside from its brilliance, it is probably most noted for being used by ] to test and verify ] laws. | '''The Great Comet of 1680''', formally known as '''C/1680 V1''' or '''Kirch's Comet''', has the distinction of being the first ] discovered by ]. Discovered by ] on ], ], it became one of the brightest comets of the ]--reputedly visible even in daytime--and was noted for its spectacularly long tail. Passing only 0.4 ] from ] on November 30, it sped around an incredibly close ] of 0.01 AU (1.5 million ] on ], ], reaching its peak brightness on ] as it rushed outward again. Although it was a undeniably a ], it was probably not part of the ] family. Aside from its brilliance, it is probably most noted for being used by ] to test and verify ] laws. | ||
| ==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 19:25, 6 February 2006
The Great Comet of 1680, formally known as C/1680 V1 or Kirch's Comet, has the distinction of being the first comet discovered by telescope. Discovered by Gottfried Kirch on November 14, 1680, it became one of the brightest comets of the 17th century--reputedly visible even in daytime--and was noted for its spectacularly long tail. Passing only 0.4 AUs from Earth on November 30, it sped around an incredibly close perihelion of 0.01 AU (1.5 million km on December 18, 1680, reaching its peak brightness on December 29 as it rushed outward again. Although it was a undeniably a sungrazing comet, it was probably not part of the Kreutz family. Aside from its brilliance, it is probably most noted for being used by Isaac Newton to test and verify Kepler's laws.