This is the year of Halley’s Comet. Sometime before the last day of 1985, you and I will have the opportunity to see this most famous of all celestial visitors.
Articles with Comets
Halley's Comet, as seen in March 1986 • NASA/W. Liller (Public Domain)
The 1066 visit of Halley's Comet as depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry (Public Domain)
Waiting for Halley’s
In 1948 Halley’s Comet turned the dark corner of its ellipse far out beyond the planet Neptune. Recorded only by the astronomers’ calculations, it leaned into its sunward curve, in the words of poet Ted Hughes, “like a skater on the thin ice of space.” Today it is gliding past the orbit of Saturn, gathering speed in its fall toward the sun.