Great Comet of 1811
The Great Comet of 1811, as drawn by William Henry Smyth
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| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Honoré Flaugergues |
| Discovery date | March 25, 1811 |
| Alternative designations |
1811 I, Great Comet of 1811 |
| Orbital characteristics A | |
| Epoch | 2382760.5 |
| Aphelion | 423 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.04 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 212.4 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.995125 |
| Orbital period | ~3096 yr |
| Inclination | 106.9° |
| Last perihelion | September 12, 1811 |
The Great Comet of 1811, formally designated C/1811 F1, is a comet that was visible to the naked eye for around 260 days, a record it held until the appearance of Comet Hale–Bopp in 1997. In October 1811, at its brightest, it displayed an apparent magnitude of 0, with an easily visible coma.
The comet was discovered March 25, 1811 by Honoré Flaugergues at 2.7 AU from the Sun in the now-defunct constellation of Argo Navis. After being obscured for several days by moonlight, it was also found by Jean-Louis Pons on April 11, while Franz Xaver, Baron Von Zach was able to confirm Flaugergues' discovery the same night.
The first provisional orbit was computed in June by Johann Karl Burckhardt. Based on these calculations, Heinrich Wilhelm Matthäus Olbers made a prediction that the comet would go on to become extremely bright later that year.
From May to August, the comet's position made it difficult to spot because of its low altitude and the evening twilight. Both Flaugergues and Olbers were able to recover it in Leo Minor during August, Olbers noting a small but distinct tail, consisting of two rays forming a parabola, when viewing through a comet seeker. By September, in Ursa Major, it was becoming a conspicuous object in the evening sky as it approached perihelion: William Herschel noted that a tail 25° long had developed by October 6.
By January 1812, the comet's brightness had faded. Several astronomers continued to obtain telescopic observations for some months, the last being Vincent Wisniewski at Novocherkassk, who noted it as barely reaching an apparent magnitude of 11 by August 12.
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