Today in the history of astronomy, a surprise comet appears in the sky – but it’s not what everyone expected.
After not being seen in the sky since 1836, Comet Halley (above) was expected to return in 1910. But the great January comet appeared surprisingly early. Credit: Professor Edward Emerson Barnard/Yerkes Observatory
The object that would become known as both the Great January Comet of 1910 and the Daylight Comet was first observed in the Southern Hemisphere on January 12. It is not clear who discovered it, but some newspapers at the time pointed to observers in South Africa. On January 17, 1910, the comet reached perihelion – the closest it comes to the Sun – and was visible in daylight, brighter than Venus. As it moves away from the Sun, it becomes visible in the Northern Hemisphere shortly after sunset. By February, the comet had a 50° long tail swept away from the head.
The confusion led many people to mistake the apparition for the more famous Halley’s Comet; The comet’s return was highly anticipated in the spring of 1910, so imagine everyone’s surprise when a brilliant comet unexpectedly appeared months earlier!
