Halley's Comet is the best-known periodic comet, returning to the inner solar system roughly every 75 to 76 years. Some historians have linked a bright object seen in Greek skies around the date shown with an earlier visit of the comet, but this is uncertain; the earliest firm records come from Chinese astronomers around 240 BCE and from Babylonian tablets. In 1705 the English astronomer Edmond Halley showed that comets seen in 1531, 1607 and 1682 were the same body and predicted its return in 1758. It reappeared at the end of 1758, after his death, which gave a striking confirmation of Newton's theory of gravity. A fleet of spacecraft, including Europe's Giotto, studied it in 1986, and its next return is due in 2061.
Before and after
- 479 BCEDeath of Confucius
- from 478 BCE to 403 BCEFounding of Delian League
- from 476 BCE to 221 BCEWarring States period
- 470 BCEBirth of Socrates
- 466 BCEDiscovery of Halley's Comet
- 460 BCEBirth of Hippocrates
- 456 BCEDeath of Aeschylus
- c. 451 BCEThe Twelve Tables, Rome's first written law
- from 450 BCE to 15 CELa Tène culture
More in Universe & space
- 7 January 1610Discovery of Io
- 25 March 1655Discovery of Titan
- 13 March 1781Discovery of Uranus
- 23 September 1846Discovery of Neptune
- 12 August 1877Discovery of Deimos
- 17 August 1877Discovery of Phobos
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 5th century BCE.