On This Day In History: Comet Donati First Observed By Italian Astronomer – On June 2, 1858

AncientPages.com - On June 2, 1858, Comet Donati was first observed by astronomer Giovanni Battista Donati in Florence, Italy.

Donati Comet is considered one of the most spectacular astronomical events of the nineteenth century.

The comet with both gas and dust tails depicted.

Comet C/1858 L1 (Donati) on October 5, 1858. Note the Big Dipper to the right. The bright star near the comet's head is Arcturus in the constellation Bootes.  E. Weiß - E. Weiß: "Bilderatlas der Sternenwelt"  - Public Domain

Its extended sword-like tail was a remarkable sight that inspired many artistic and literary presentations.

After the Great Comet of 1811, it was the most brilliant comet that appeared in the 19th century. It was also the first comet to be photographed. It was nearest the Earth on October 10, 1858.

At first, the Comet Donati was invisible to the naked eye, as it only appeared through the telescope like a faint cloud of light, gradually getting brighter and brighter.

Toward the end of August, it began to show signs of developing a tail and became visible on August 29.It was significantly increased in size and brilliancy during September and October and was seen in the western heavens. After October 10, the comet was observed in the Southern hemisphere, but its brightness was gradually decreasing.

Due to its long elliptical orbit, it is estimated that Donati's Comet will not be seen passing by Earth again until the 4th millennium.

However, astronomers also believe that  the comet will probably not return till the year 3858, as its period of revolution is approximately 2000 years.

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References:

Hooper W. G. Aether and Gravitation