Book contents
- Frontmatter
- EDITOR'S PREFACE
- PREFACE
- Contents
- LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
- CHAPTER I BELIEFS AND SUPERSTITIONS RELATIVE TO COMETS
- CHAPTER II COMETARY ASTRONOMY UP TO THE TIME OF NEWTON
- CHAPTER III THE MOTIONS AND ORBITS OF COMETS
- CHAPTER IV PERIODICAL COMETS
- SECTION I COMETS WHOSE RETURN HAS BEEN OBSERVED
- SECTION II HALLEY'S COMET
- SECTION III ENCKE'S COMET; OR, THE SHORT PERIOD COMET
- SECTION IV BIELA'S OR GAMBART'S COMET
- SECTION V FAYE'S COMET
- SECTION VI BRORSEN'S COMET
- SECTION VII D'ARREST'S COMET
- SECTION VIII TUTTLE'S COMET
- SECTION IX WINNECKE'S PERIODICAL COMET
- SECTION X TEMPEL'S SHORT PERIOD COMET
- CHAPTER V PERIODICAL COMETS
- CHAPTER VI THE WORLD OF COMETS AND COMETARY SYSTEMS
- CHAPTER VII PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL CONSTITUTION OF COMETS
- CHAPTER VIII PHYSICAL TRANSFORMATIONS OF COMETS
- CHAPTER IX MASS AND DENSITY OF COMETS
- CHAPTER X THE LIGHT OF COMETS
- CHAPTER XI THEORY OF COMETARY PHENOMENA
- CHAPTER XII COMETS AND SHOOTING STARS
- CHAPTER XIII COMETS AND THE EARTH
- CHAPTER XIV PHYSICAL INFLUENCES OF COMETS
- CHAPTER XV SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT COMETS
- I ELLIPTIC ELEMENTS OF THE RECOGNISED PERIODICAL COMETS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM
- II GENERAL CATALOGUE OF THE ORBITS OF COMETS
- Plate section
SECTION VI - BRORSEN'S COMET
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 March 2012
- Frontmatter
- EDITOR'S PREFACE
- PREFACE
- Contents
- LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
- CHAPTER I BELIEFS AND SUPERSTITIONS RELATIVE TO COMETS
- CHAPTER II COMETARY ASTRONOMY UP TO THE TIME OF NEWTON
- CHAPTER III THE MOTIONS AND ORBITS OF COMETS
- CHAPTER IV PERIODICAL COMETS
- SECTION I COMETS WHOSE RETURN HAS BEEN OBSERVED
- SECTION II HALLEY'S COMET
- SECTION III ENCKE'S COMET; OR, THE SHORT PERIOD COMET
- SECTION IV BIELA'S OR GAMBART'S COMET
- SECTION V FAYE'S COMET
- SECTION VI BRORSEN'S COMET
- SECTION VII D'ARREST'S COMET
- SECTION VIII TUTTLE'S COMET
- SECTION IX WINNECKE'S PERIODICAL COMET
- SECTION X TEMPEL'S SHORT PERIOD COMET
- CHAPTER V PERIODICAL COMETS
- CHAPTER VI THE WORLD OF COMETS AND COMETARY SYSTEMS
- CHAPTER VII PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL CONSTITUTION OF COMETS
- CHAPTER VIII PHYSICAL TRANSFORMATIONS OF COMETS
- CHAPTER IX MASS AND DENSITY OF COMETS
- CHAPTER X THE LIGHT OF COMETS
- CHAPTER XI THEORY OF COMETARY PHENOMENA
- CHAPTER XII COMETS AND SHOOTING STARS
- CHAPTER XIII COMETS AND THE EARTH
- CHAPTER XIV PHYSICAL INFLUENCES OF COMETS
- CHAPTER XV SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT COMETS
- I ELLIPTIC ELEMENTS OF THE RECOGNISED PERIODICAL COMETS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM
- II GENERAL CATALOGUE OF THE ORBITS OF COMETS
- Plate section
Summary
Discovery of the comet of five years and a half period by Brorsen in 1846–Its supposed identity with the comet of 1532 gives reason to suspect elliptic elements; calculation of these elements–Returns of the comet in 1851, 1868, and 1873
In the order of their discovery we proceed to pass in review the periodical comets of the solar system–those at least whose return has been confirmed by observation, and which have justified the predictions of calculation
This brings us to a comet which likewise bears the name of the astronomer who discovered it, at Kiel, on February 26, 1846, viz. to Brorsen's comet, whose period is intermediate to those of Encke and Faye. It performs its revolution round the sun in five years and a half, or, more exactly, in five years 176 days, or 2,002 days
As soon as the parabolic elements of the new comet were calculated, two astronomers, Goujon and Petersen, suspected its identity with a comet observed in 1532, and were thus led to the calculation of an elliptic orbit; this orbit was actually determined by Goujon, by Brünnow, and later by Bruhns. The return was predicted for 1851, and the perihelion passage for November 10 of that year.
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- Information
- The World of Comets , pp. 119 - 121Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010First published in: 1877