Illuminating Incidents in Antipodean Astronomy: John Tebbutt and the Great Comet of 1861

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

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The Great Comet of 1861 (C/1861 J1) was one of the most spectacular comets of the nineteenth century, and observations of its head and tail contributed to our understanding of cometary structure and behaviour. This comet was discovered by John Tebbutt, a young Australian amateur, who was also the first astronomer to compute its orbital elements and to forecast that the Earth would pass through its tail. Tebbutt utilised local newspapers rather than academic journals to document his observations, and as a consequence he was involved in considerable public controversy. Despite this, Comet C/1861 J1 served as an ideal ``career'' catalyst for Tebbutt, and by the end of the century he had become Australia's leading astronomer and one of the world's foremost amateur astronomers.

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