* March 7 – Comet Kohoutek is discovered.

This was the case with Comet Kohoutek in 1973 ; it was initially touted as potentially spectacular, but only appeared moderately bright.

Orbits of Comet Kohoutek and Earth

Comet Kohoutek is a long-period comet ; its previous apparition was about 150, 000 years ago, and its next apparition will be in about 75, 000 years.

C / 1973 E1 should not be confused with the periodic comet 75D / Kohoutek, which can also be called " Comet Kohoutek " ( as could the comets C / 1969 O1 and C / 1973 D1, also discovered by Luboš Kohoutek as sole discoverer ).

Because Comet Kohoutek fell far short of expectations, its name became synonymous with spectacular duds.

In 1973, David Berg, founder of the Children of God, predicted that Comet Kohoutek foretold a colossal doomsday event in the United States in January 1974.

Comet Kohoutek inspired numerous musicians and other artists:

* The jazz composer Sun Ra performed the Concert for the Comet Kohoutek in December 1973.

* In The Simpsons episode 2F11, " Bart's Comet ", Principal Skinner says he missed the chance to name a comet after himself once, but that he " got back " at Principal Kohoutek ... " him and that little boy of his!

* The Mexican poet Jaime Sabines used the Comet Kohoutek in his poem " Veremos " as a way of making a reference to the immensity of time and space.

* Burl Ives recorded a single called " The Tail of the Comet Kohoutek / A Very Fine Lady " ( 1974, 7 in., 45 rpm, MCA 40175 ).

* Kohoutek: Comet of the Century TIME magazine article on the comet, and comets in history

* Kohoutek, Comet Entry on the Internet Encyclopedia of Science

* The much-hyped 1973 appearance of Comet Kohoutek

The event, which is free and open to all Claremont Colleges community members, is named after Comet Kohoutek, discovered by Czech astronomer Lubos Kohoutek.

This was partly due to the relatively disappointing display of Comet Kohoutek in 1973, which had been widely predicted to become extremely prominent: scientists were wary of making predictions that might raise public expectations.

# redirect Comet Kohoutek

Brian G. Marsden and Zdeněk Sekanina attempted to calculate a likely orbit for any remaining parts of the comet ; it was during a search using Marsden's calculations that Luboš Kohoutek discovered Comet Kohoutek.

Comet Shoemaker – Levy 9 ( formally designated D / 1993 F2 ) was a comet that broke apart and collided with Jupiter in July 1994, providing the first direct observation of an extraterrestrial collision of Solar System objects.

* Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 ( formally designated D / 1993 F2, nicknamed String of Pearls for its appearance ) was a comet that broke apart and collided with Jupiter in July 1994, providing the first direct observation of an extraterrestrial collision of solar system objects ..

Comet Hyakutake (, formally designated C / 1996 B2 ) is a comet, discovered on 31 January 1996, that passed very close to Earth in March of that year.

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.

Similarly, the second known periodic comet, Comet Encke ( formally designated 2P / Encke ), was named after the astronomer, Johann Franz Encke, who had calculated its orbit rather than the original discoverer of the comet, Pierre Méchain.

Comet Wilson – Harrington is a periodic comet ( formally designated 107P / Wilson – Harrington ).

Comet West formally designated C / 1975 V1, 1976 VI, and 1975n, was a spectacular comet, sometimes considered to qualify for the status of " great comet ".

Comet Donati, or Donati's Comet, formally designated C / 1858 L1 and 1858 VI, is a long-period comet named after the Italian astronomer Giovanni Battista Donati who first observed it on June 2, 1858.

Comet Humason, formally designated C / 1961 R1 ( a. k. a. 1962 VIII and 1961e ), was a non-periodic comet discovered by Milton L. Humason on September 1, 1961.

Comet Machholz, formally designated C / 2004 Q2, is a long-period comet discovered by Donald Machholz on August 27, 2004.

On 10 November 1951 the airport was formally re-opened after the facilities had been extended further: Runway 12 / 30 was now, in preparation for services by the de Havilland Comet.

The Great Comet of 1843 formally designated C / 1843 D1 and 1843 I, was a long-period comet which became very bright in March 1843 ( it is also known as the Great March Comet ).

The Great Comet of 1882 formally designated C / 1882 R1, 1882 II, and 1882b, was a comet which became very bright in September 1882.

The Great January Comet of 1910, formally designated C / 1910 A1 and often referred to as the Daylight Comet appeared in January 1910.

Comet Skjellerup-Maristany, formally designated C / 1927 X1, 1927 IX, and 1927k, was a long-period comet which became very bright in 1927.

The Great Comet of 1861 formally designated C / 1861 J1 and 1861 II, is a long-period comet that was visible to the naked eye for approximately 3 months.

Halley's Comet or Comet Halley ( or ), officially designated 1P / Halley, is the best-known of the short-period comets and is visible from Earth every 75 – 76 years.

For example, " 1P / 1982 U1, 1986 III, 1982i " indicates that for the perihelion in 1986, Halley's Comet was the first period comet known ( designated 1P ) and this apparition was the first seen in " half-month " U ( the first half of November ) in 1982 ( giving 1P / 1982 U1 ); it was the third comet past perihelion in 1986 ( 1986 III ); and it was the ninth comet spotted in 1982 ( provisional designation 1982i ).

Comet Churyumov – Gerasimenko, officially designated 67P / Churyumov – Gerasimenko, is a comet with a current orbital period of 6. 45 years.

As its official designation implies, Encke's Comet was the first periodic comet discovered after Halley's Comet ( designated 1P / Halley ).

Near impacts have been depicted in Jules Verne's Off on a Comet and Tove Jansson's Comet in Moominland, while a large manned space expedition visits Halley's Comet in Sir Arthur C. Clarke's novel 2061: Odyssey Three.

Comet Bode ( C / 1779 A1 ) is named after him ; its orbit was calculated by Erik Prosperin.

* 2007 – Comet C / 2006 P1 ( McNaught ) reaches perihelion becoming the brightest comet in more than 40 years.

** Comet C / 1861 J1 ( the " Great Comet of 1861 ") is discovered in Australia.

May 13: C / 1861 J1 | Great Comet.

The brightness of the great comets C / 2006 P1 ( McNaught ) and Comet Skjellerup – Maristany near perihelion were enhanced by forward scattering.

This comet was actually the second Comet Hyakutake ; Hyakutake had discovered comet C / 1995 Y1 several weeks earlier.

" The Date of Timoleon's Crossing to Italy and the Comet of 361 B. C.

The parent body of the Quadrantids was recently tentatively identified ( in a paper by Peter Jenniskens ) as the minor planet 2003 EH < sub > 1 </ sub >, which in turn may be the same object as the comet C / 1490 Y1 2003 EH < sub > 1 </ sub > Is the Quadrantid Shower Parent Comet that was observed by Chinese, Japanese and Korean astronomers some 500 years ago.

The media has stated that Hyakutake became interested in astronomy after seeing Comet Ikeya-Seki ( C / 1965 S1 ).

* " Pensées Diverses sur l ' Occasion de la Comète " ( 1682 ) translated as " Various Thoughts on the Occasion of the Comet " ( 2000 ) by Robert C. Bartlett, SUNY Press.

Ms Mueller also discovered several comets during the course of POSS II and the bright Comet Wilson 1986 was discovered by then graduate student C. Wilson early in the survey.

* March 16-Great Comet of 1830 ( C / 1830 F1, 1830 I ) first observed in Mauritius.

* January 7-Great Comet of 1831 ( C / 1831 A1, 1830 II ) first observed by John Herapath.

* November 29-Discovery of C / 1743 X1, the ' Great Comet of 1744 ' ( sic.