Comet 10P/Tempel, usually called Tempel 2, is a periodic comet discovered by the German astronomer Wilhelm Tempel, one of the most successful visual comet hunters of the nineteenth century. It belongs to the Jupiter family of short-period comets, whose orbits are strongly influenced by the gravity of the giant planet, and it returns to the inner solar system about every five and a half years. Observations of such comets have been used to study the evolution of icy bodies and to calculate changes in their orbits over time. Tempel discovered several other comets and also found nebulae, including the one around the star Merope in the Pleiades.
Before and after
- 1873Founding of Swiss Stock Exchange
- 9 January 1873Death of Napoleon III
- 20 January 1873Birth of Johannes V. Jensen
- 20 March 1873Birth of Sergei Rachmaninoff
- 3 July 1873Discovery of 10P/Tempel
- 11 October 1873League of the Three Emperors
- 17 November 1873Founding of Budapest
- 1874Founding of Universal Postal Union
- 25 January 1874Birth of William Somerset Maugham
More in Universe & space
- 1774Founding of Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory
- 13 March 1781Discovery of Uranus
- 23 November 1843Discovery of 4P/Faye
- 23 September 1846Discovery of Neptune
- 28 June 1851Discovery of 6P/d'Arrest
- 17 August 1877Discovery of Phobos
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.