Today in the history of astronomy, Johannes Capler makes the first observation in a series of three great comets.
Seeing the comet of 1618 was widely wide in Asia and Europe, which provides for many artistic illustrations of vision – such as this image of a comet in Ogsburg, Germany. Credit: Alias Ihninger (1573-1653]/Public Domain, through Wikimedia Commons
- Three comets (C/1618 Q1, C/1618 V1, and C/1618 W1) seen in 1618, all are visible to the naked eyes.
- The C/1618 Q1 was first seen in Hungary in August, marking the first known telescope observation of a comet recorded by Johannes Kepler in September.
- The C/1618 V was seen in Indonesia and Italy in early November.
- C/1618 W1, the most bright of the three, reached 0–1 clear magnitude until 29 November, performed a long tail and depicted comments throughout Europe, including continuous measurements by Capler.
The collapse of 1618 was a standout when it came to a remarkable comet, in which three naked eyes were visible. In late August, C/1618 Q1 appeared, first seen in the sky on Hungary. Johannes Capler visited the comet throughout the month of September, looked at it from Linz, Austria, on 6 September through a small telescope. This was the first known observation of a comet through a telescope. The second comet (C/1618 V1) was observed in early November, with an observation recorded in 10th November and Italy in 10th. Then, at the end of the month, another spectacular comet appeared, first seen in the sky on Asia: C/1618 W1. The most bright among the three astronomical visitors, it reached 0–1 clear magnitude until 29 November, and sported a long tail. Astronomers across Europe noted their comments from comet, including Kepler, who saw it on 29 November and continued to measure their class until 7 January. As common at that time, many astrologers and theology interpret the series of comets as a harboring of doom or decorating, often connecting them to the Thirty Torty Years (1618–1648).
