EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -Halley did not live to see his prediction come true (he died in 1742), but the comet was sighted late in 1758, passed perihelion (closest distance to the Sun) in March 1759, and was named in Halley’s honour.

Detailed explanation-2: -Astronomers have now linked the comet’s appearances to observations dating back more than 2, 000 years. Halley was last seen in Earth’s skies in 1986 and was met in space by an international fleet of spacecraft. It will return in 2061 on its regular 76-year journey around the Sun.

Detailed explanation-3: -On April 11, 1986, millions of people around the world looked to the night sky to welcome Halley’s Comet. On that day the celestial traveller, who returns to our neighbourhood every 75 or 76 years, reached its closest approach to the Earth.

Detailed explanation-4: -SUNGRAZING COMET C/1945 X1 (DU TOIT) The object moved rapidly toward the Sun, and its brightness at discovery was reported as magnitude 7.