Who was the first discoverer of Halley's comet?

Harley (1656- 1742) When it comes to Harley (1656- 1742), people will not feel strange, because the outstanding comet, Halley's Comet, is named after him.

Harley was born in Haggerston near London on 1656. 1673, she entered Queen's College, Oxford University to study mathematics. 1676, 20-year-old Harley resolutely gave up the degree certificate he was about to get and boarded the ship of the East India Company alone. After three months of sea bumps, he arrived at St. Helena Island in the South Atlantic, established the first southern sky observatory, made astronomical observations for more than a year, and compiled the world's first highly accurate southern star map, which is known as the "Southern Valley". Harley urged Newton to write the foundation work of classical mechanics, Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, and generously contributed to the publication of this masterpiece. These two items alone are enough to make Harley famous in history. But halley's comet

The contribution to mankind is far more than that. He also discovered the long-term acceleration of the moon's movement, which proved that stars are not constant. Later, I chose comet, a field that was not involved before, and conducted in-depth research, creating a new field of understanding and studying comets, ancient western understanding.

Tycho proposed that a comet is a celestial body, but it is not clear what kind of celestial body it is. Astronomers generally believe that comets are "monsters" drifting among stars, and it is impossible to predict their whereabouts.

Halley and Comet

Harley seems to have a soft spot for comets. 1680, Harley saw the brightest comet in history while traveling in France. Two years later, on 1682, another big comet was seen. These two giant comets left a deep impression on him. 1682 In August, a bright comet appeared in the sky with a clearly visible tail and an arc shape. The appearance of this comet attracted the attention of almost all astronomers. At that time, the 26-year-old British astronomer Harley was particularly interested in this comet. He carefully observed and recorded the position of comets and their daily changes in the starry sky. After a period of observation, he was surprised to find that this comet seems to be not a new visitor to the earth for the first time, but an old friend who has met before.

Halley's comet record

1695, Harley, who is already a clerk of the royal society, began to devote himself to the study of comets. He selected 24 comets from the comet records from 1337 to 1698 and calculated their orbits in one year. It is found that the orbits of these three comets in 153 1 year, 1607 and 1682 look exactly the same. Although the time of passing through perihelion varies from year to year, it may be due to the gravitational perturbation of Jupiter or Saturn. An idea flashed through his mind: these three comets may be three returns of the same comet. However, Harley did not come to this conclusion immediately, but painstakingly searched forward and found that there were records of big comets from 1456, 1378, 130 1, 1245 to 1066 in history. British astronomer Halley

In Harley's time, no one realized that comets would return to the sun regularly. Since Harley had this bold idea, he devoted himself to the observation and research of comets with great interest. After a lot of observation, research and calculation, he boldly predicted that the comet that appeared in 1682 would return again at the end of 1758 or the beginning of 1759. Harley was nearly 50 years old when he made this prediction, and it will be another 50 years before his prediction is correct. Realizing that he couldn't see the return of the comet with his own eyes, he said in a humorous and regretful tone: If the comet really returns in 1758 as I predicted, fair descendants will probably not refuse to admit that it was first discovered by an Englishman. Many years after Harley's death 10, at the end of 1758, the first comet predicted to return was observed by an amateur astronomer, and it returned to the sun on time. Harley's prediction at the beginning of18th century was finally confirmed after more than half a century. Later generations named this comet "Halley's Comet" in memory of him. In fact, every time I returned to China from 240 BC, it is recorded in history. The earliest time may be the year when Zhou Wuwang cut Zhou, that is, BC 1057. Halley's comet will return on time about every 76 years. When Halley's Comet returns, we can do a lot of observation and research on it. The latest regression of Halley's Comet is 1986. China, like other countries, has made a lot of observations on it and found the phenomenon of broken tail. Its return will wait until around 2062.

Astronomical theory

Harley published the theory of comet astronomy in 1705, and announced that the great comet that caused great panic in 1682 would reappear in the sky in 1758 (later, he estimated that Jupiter might affect its motion and postponed its return date to 1759). At that time, Harley was over 50 years old and knew that he would never see this great comet again in his lifetime. So he wrote in the book: "If the comet finally reappears around 1758 according to our prediction, but later generations will not forget that this song was first discovered by an Englishman ..." Some people laughed at Harley's nonsense, some doubted Harley's prediction, but many people believed Harley's prediction. The French mathematician Crajo made an accurate prediction before the return of the comet: due to the influence of Jupiter and Saturn, the comet will pass the perihelion one month before and after April of 1759.

Comet regression confirmed

At the beginning of 1758, messier of the French Observatory began to observe, hoping to be the first person to confirm the return of comets. 1759 65438+1October1On March 6th, 986, the spacecraft sent back the photos of Halley's Comet.

2 1, he finally found this comet. Unfortunately, the glory of observing the return of the comet for the first time does not belong to him. It turned out that a farmer astronomy enthusiast near Dresden, Germany, first arrived there on Christmas Eve of 1758 and found the returning comet. 1March 759, Halley's comet passed the perihelion in1March 4, just one month earlier than Craehot's prediction. At this point, Harley has been buried underground for more than ten years. The life of scientists is limited, but their contribution to science will be eternal. As Halley wished, everyone did not forget Halley and named this comet Halley's Comet. The observation and study of Halley's comet not only confirmed the existence of periodic comets, but also greatly promoted the development of comet astronomy. In addition, Comet Halley, like a visiting ambassador, regularly reviews the planets in the solar system, experiences various environments and brings back rich information. Therefore, every time it returns, it will arouse great interest of astronomers. Comet Halley returns once every 76 years, and most of the time it lives in the marginal area of the solar system, even with the largest telescope in modern times, it is difficult to find it. People on earth can only see it within three or four months of its return. Generally speaking, people's life span is only about 70 years old, so it is rare for a person to see Halley's comet twice. Only some "longevity stars" have this opportunity. The first time I saw it, I babbled at a young age, and the second time I saw it, I was old. What needs to be explained to readers here is that although messier did not become the first person to confirm the return of the comet, he did not lose heart. Instead, he began to search for comets systematically, observing them year after year in the morning and after dusk. In his lifetime, * * * discovered 2 1 comet, and the number of comets he observed reached 46. On one occasion, King Louis XV of France joked that he was a "comet detective". Although this is a joke, it is the highest praise for messier's life-long search for comets.

Ancient records of China

China's record of Halley's Comet can be traced back to Shang Dynasty. "featuring cutting weeks, east and meet age, to Yun and water, to * * * head down. Comets come out, and Yin people give them a handle. Sometimes there are comets with handles in the East, which can sweep westerners! " According to Yuzhe Zhang, this is the record of the return of Halley's Comet in BC 1057. The more accurate record of Halley's Comet is that in 6 13 BC (the 14th year of Lu Wengong in the Spring and Autumn Period), "In autumn and July, a star entered the Beidou". This is the first exact record of Halley's comet in the world. Since 240 BC (the seventh year of Qin Shihuang in the Warring States Period), every time Halley's Comet returns, China has recorded it. Halley's comet records are sometimes very detailed. The most detailed record is 12 BC (the first year of Hanyuanyan). "Xin Wei in July, a week in Tokyo, practicing five governors, out of He Shu North, leading Xuanyuan, is too small. It was more than six degrees the next day, and I went out in the morning and walked east. See the west on the evening of the 13th, be mistresses, the autumn is long, the war is full, and bees rush to the purple palace. When the fire was over, it reached Tianhe, except for the Queen Mother's territory. Death in the south is a big angle, a photo. Go to the sky city and the festival, enter the market, and then go west ten days later; Fifty-six days are with the black dragon. " (Records of the Five Elements of Hanshu) The comet records in ancient China are accurate and reliable.

The Historical Value of Comet China

At the beginning of the 20th century, British people Cromwell and Cowell used the records of China's ancient Halley's Comet to compare with the calculated time and period of each perihelion. The oldest records can be traced back to 240 BC. The comparison results are quite consistent, which proves the reliability of ancient records. In 1950s, after studying the collection of comet orbits of 1428 comets, Frenchman Baldy concluded: "The best record of comets (with almost no exception) should be China's." 1955, shklovsky praised: "In the nearly 2,000-year history of China, the appearance of Halley's Comet was recorded without any omission". Because the historical materials of Comet China are rich, continuous, accurate and reliable, it has played an important role in modern celestial exploration, showing great modern scientific value. 1850, according to the historical data of comet China, J.R.Hind found that the intersection angle between the orbital plane and the ecliptic plane of Halley's comet was gradually changing, which was helpful to study the origin and evolution of the comet. 1972, American Brady used China's comet records to explore the movement of comets since 1682 and the return of Halley's comet since 1986, thus putting forward the hypothesis that there is an unknown tenth planet in the solar system. China resident Jiang Tao (197 1) rechecked the relevant records. Although he denied the hypothesis of the existence of the tenth largest planet, he affirmed the existence of non-gravitational effect. 1978, Yuzhe Zhang studied these comet records in China, and came to the conclusion that there may be an extraterrestrial planet or an annular comet cloud with a total mass slightly equal to that of the earth at a distance of 50 astronomical units from the sun. All these facts show that the ancient records of Halley's Comet in China are of great scientific value and provide valuable information for solving the problems related to astronomy today. "Unfortunately, the ancients in our country failed to determine whether a comet that once appeared was the one that once appeared.

Edit the characteristics of this comet

periodic comet

Most comets orbit the sun in a very flat orbit. Comets in elliptical orbits are called periodic comets. The period of revolution is usually between three years and centuries. Comets with a period of only a few years are mostly small comets, which are difficult to see directly with the naked eye. Comets that do not follow elliptical orbits can only be regarded as passers-by in the solar system, and once they leave, they disappear. Most comets travel from west to east in the sky. But there are exceptions Halley's comet runs from east to west.

circulate

The average period of revolution of Halley's Comet is 75 or 76 years, but you can't use 1986 plus several 76 years to get the exact date of its return. The gravity of the main planet changes cycles and falls into one cycle after another. Non-gravity effect (a large amount of evaporation when approaching the sun) also plays an important role, making it change periodically. From 239 BC to AD 1986, period of revolution changed from 76.0( 1986) to 79.3 (45 1 and 1066). The nearest perihelion is 1 1 BC and 66 yuan AD.

Orbit of revolution

Halley's comet orbit map

Halley's comet's orbit is reversed, and its inclination to the ecliptic plane is 18 degrees. In addition, like other comets, the eccentricity is very large. The nucleus of Halley's comet is about 16x8x8. Contrary to previous predictions, the nucleus of Halley's comet is very dark: its reflectivity is only 0.03, which makes it darker than coal and becomes one of the darkest objects in the solar system. The density of Halley's comet nucleus is very low: about 0. 1 g/cm3, which indicates that it is porous, probably because most of the dust is left after ice sublimation. Halley's comet is almost unique among many comets. It is big and active, and its orbit is clear and regular. This makes Giotto's plane easier to aim at. But it can't represent the commonness of other comets.

clear

Comets themselves don't glow. As early as the Jin Dynasty in China, astronomers in China realized this. "Jin Zhi" records that "the comet has no light, but there is light against Japan". Comets shine by reflecting sunlight. Generally, the light of comets is dim, and only astronomers can observe their appearance with the help of astronomical instruments. Only a few comets are seen by us. They are very bright by the sun and have long tails.

Related disputes

Halley's comet, the first famous comet, was predicted to reappear and was confirmed. When it appeared in 1682, British astronomer Harley noticed that its orbit was similar to that of comets that appeared in 1607 and 153 1 year, and thought it was the three appearances of the same comet, and predicted that it would appear at the end of 1758 or/kloc-. Although Harley died in 1742, he did come back in 1759, which is an amazing achievement in the history of astronomy. This comet was named Halley's Comet. Its period of revolution is 76 years, the nearest distance is 88 million kilometers (0.59 astronomical unit), the apogee distance is 5.3 billion kilometers (353 1 astronomical unit), and the orbital eccentricity is 0.967. The appearance of Halley's Comet is recorded in detail in China's history books. As for the early records of time, Chunqiu is the first one. "Spring and Autumn Annals" said: In the fourteenth year of Lu Wengong (6 13 BC), "In autumn and July, a star entered the Beidou." This is the first exact record of Halley's comet in the world. Regarding the contents of early records, Huai Nan Zi in the Western Han Dynasty is the first one. "A Brief Training of Huainan Zibing" said: "The king of Wu attacked Zhou, welcomed the Spring East, reached the water, and the comet came out, giving the Yin people a handle." According to China astronomer Yuzhe Zhang, this is the record of the return of Halley's Comet in BC 1057. Since 240 BC, every time Halley's Comet appeared, China has recorded the number of times and detailed records, which other countries have not. The original mass of Halley's comet is estimated to be less than 65.438+0 trillion tons. If the average density of the nucleus is about per cubic centimeter 1g, then the radius of the nucleus should be less than 15km. It is estimated that its mass will be reduced by about 2 billion tons per revolution, which is only a small part of its total mass, so it will exist for a long time.

Edit this comet composition

Water, ammonia, nitrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and incomplete molecular free radicals are the main components of Halley's comet. On the surface of Wei Hui material collected by satellite, the material composition described above is totally subjective and meaningless.

Edit this observation record.

In 240 BC, "Historical Records-Biography of the First Emperor" "In seven years, the comet first came out of the east, saw the north, and saw the west in May." In the Babylonian clay tablets in the second half of BC 164, August 87 BC, BC 12 BC and BC 10 BC were recorded. At that time, some scholars called it the star of Bethlehem in the New Testament-A.D. 1 year, A.D. 14 1 year in March, A.D. 265438+295. April 374 February 45 1 June 530 September 607 Japan Record 684 June 10 Japan Record Tianwu 12 May Record 760 837 965438+ July 989 September. "Song Shi Tian": "After three years of peace, I left the camp. I saw the East in the morning. It is six feet long. In the southwest, it points to a dangerous grave. I gradually went east and fell in the near future. To Xinji, see the southwest in the evening, and there are stars in the north without a canopy coma, which is beneficial to the East. There is also a white gas that is three feet wide. Live in the house through purple MSI, head and tail into turbidity, benefit the east, and pass through Wenchang Beidou. By noon, the stars were in a coma, and the coma was more than three feet long and three feet wide. It points northeast and is five carriages long. White gas is different from the sky, penetrating the North River, the Five Kings, Xuanyuan and Emperor Taiwei, sitting in the corner of the Five Kings. Family, room and accommodation. Guiwei, the comet is five feet long. A star coma is like an elevator. Stay in the camp where Zhang walked, where there are fourteen houses. After sixty-seven days, all the stars are gone. " /KOOC-0//KOOC-0/45 April AD/KOOC-0/222 September AD/KOOC-0/30/KOOC-0/June AD/KOOC-0/378 AD/KOOC-0/KOOC-0/June AD/KOOC-0. 38+060710AD 16821October 27th was the year when Halley's comet was discovered, and Halley's prediction was successfully confirmed in March 1759. At this time, China is 1835, 165438+ 10 month, 16,1965438+April, 20,00, reaching the order of -3.3. From the end of 1985 to the end of 1986, Comet Halley returned to Earth (1986).

Edit the detector.

Vega detector

1984 15 February 15, the Soviet union launched the first Halley's comet probe. The Vega probe launched by the Soviet Union was the first human messenger to visit Halley's Comet. Six days after Vega 1 set off, Vega 2 took off on February 2 1 65438 and flew to Halley's Comet for investigation.

equipment

The two Vega have the same structure, weighing 4 tons, and both have a dish antenna and an instrument platform. The platform is equipped with spectrometer, spectrograph and camera, and four solar panels provide energy for the detector. The detector is stabilized by a three-axis gyroscope and can point in any direction. Its main task is to detect the gas composition and outflow velocity during the return of Halley's comet, and take infrared and spectral photos of the comet nucleus, so as to obtain data such as the temperature of the comet nucleus, the properties and density distribution of dust particles and gas molecules.

Observation record

1 In June, 1985, Vega1first docked at Venus, dropped a lander on the surface of Venus, and then was transferred to the planetary orbit of Comet Halley under the gravity of Venus. 1 On March 4th, 986, Vega1began to investigate Halley's Comet with a distance of140,000 km, and took dozens of high-quality photos of Halley's Comet. On March 6, a comprehensive survey of the sky was conducted at a place only 8900 kilometers away from Comet Halley. 1On March 9, 986, Vega -2 flew over 8,200 kilometers away from Halley's Comet, and sent back more than 700 photos of Halley's Comet, and sent back new information about the physical and chemical characteristics of the comet nucleus, the gas and dust around the comet nucleus and so on. In 19 10, Halley's comet was very bright, reaching -3.3 and so on. 1986 Halley's comet is too dark to be seen.

Edit this special stamp

abstract

"1985- 1986 Return of Halley's Comet" Special Stamps

From the end of 1985 to May 1986, the mysterious Halley's Comet appeared above the earth. This return,1986 April 1 1 is the closest to the earth, about 63 million kilometers. People can see this long-tailed Halley's comet with the naked eye.

Stamp information

To commemorate the return of Halley's Comet, on April 1986 and April 1 kloc-0/,the former Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications of China issued a set of special stamps entitled "The Return of Halley's Comet", with a full set of1stamps with a face value of 20 cents. Yuan Jia designed it. Printed by Beijing Stamp Factory. This pattern shows the magnificence of Halley's Comet. In the vast space, Halley's Comet is like dazzling lightning, dragging a beautiful long "tail", with a majestic posture and a twinkle in her eyes. Putting the earth where human beings live at the bottom of the picture not only leaves a vast space for Halley's Comet, but also shows the momentum and elegance of Halley's Comet when it returns. It also makes people feel as if they are standing on the earth and are eagerly admiring the magnificent traces of Halley's Comet.