C / 1240 B1
| C / 1240 B1 [i] | |
|---|---|
| Properties of the orbit ( animation ) | |
| Orbit type | parabolic |
| Numerical eccentricity | 1.0 |
| Perihelion | 0.668 AU |
| Inclination of the orbit plane | 75 ° |
| Perihelion | January 21, 1240 |
| Orbital velocity in the perihelion | 52 km / s |
| history | |
| Explorer | |
| Date of discovery | January 27, 1240 |
| Older name | 1240 |
| Source: Unless otherwise stated, the data comes from JPL Small-Body Database Browser . Please also note the note on comet articles . | |
C / 1240 B1 is a comet that could be seen with the naked eye in 1240 . It is counted among the " Great Comets " due to its extraordinary brightness .
Discovery and Visibility
This comet was observed particularly intensively in Japan . According to the 18th century Chronicle Dai Nihonshi, a "broom star" was discovered in the southwest on January 27, 1240, probably on the evening of that day. The comet was reddish-white and a tail 3 ° long pointed to the southeast. Two days later, its brightness was compared to that of Saturn and its tail length was 4 °. In the following two days, the comet could not be observed in Japan due to bad weather.
At the same time, the comet was discovered in other places. The Italian Chronicon Marchiae Tarvisinae et Lombardiae from the 13th century, reported that a comet appeared to January 25 in the West. From the imprecise information, it cannot be said with certainty whether the observation preceded the observation in Japan. According to the Chinese chronicle Sòng Shǐ , an independent discovery took place in China on January 31st.
For February 1st, the Japanese report that the comet was at Jupiter and was about as bright as Venus , the "rays" of the comet extended over a length of 4 °. The following day, the comet “faced” the planet Jupiter and could be observed all night. Further observations were made on February 5th and 12th, and February 13th and 21st, when his tail was still faintly visible.
According to the Chinese chronicles, the comet was observed there on February 23 and for the last time on March 31. Williams records the Chinese observations from January 31st and February 23rd as different comets, but believes that the observations could be related.
Several European sources also mention the comet, albeit with more or less precise information about it. The contemporary chronicle Ryccardi de Sancto Germano notarii Chronica of Richard of San Germano from Italy only records: “1240. In the month of February […] a comet appeared ”, while the English text Chronica Majora by Matthew Paris from the 13th century reports in more detail about the year 1240:
“De stella quæ dicitur cometa.
Sub ejusdem temporis processu, videlicet per totum mensem Februaryarii, tempore serotino, apparuit versus occidentem quædam fusca stella emittens radium versus orientem, quam esse cometam multi veraciter asserebant. "
“About the star called the comet.
At the same time of this process, namely during the whole month of February, in spring, a certain dark star appeared in the west, which sent a ray to the east, a comet, as many sincerely claimed. "
The English text Annales Prioratus de Wigornia from the 14th century again notes only succinctly: “1240. […] A comet can be seen in February. ”On the other hand, there is a clear description of Albertus Magnus , who describes the event as an eyewitness in his book De Meteoris :
“Ego autem cum multis aliis anno ab incarnatione domini. M. cc. xl. in Saxonia vidi cometem quaſi iuxta polum ſeptemtrionalem, & proiecit radios ſuos inter Orientem & Meridiem, magis dirigendo eos ad Orientem: conſtat, quòd ibi non fuit via alicuius planetæ. ”
“I myself and many others saw a comet in Saxony in AD 1240, very close to the north celestial pole, which cast its rays between the east and noon, but directed more towards the east. It is known that none of the planets takes its path there. "
In a comet book from the 17th century , Albertus Magnus is quoted for the year 1240 (the script reads “An.C. 1340.”, this is a misprint): “Did I go to a comet in Saxen / he threw ſthrimes between the rising of the suns and midday / but turned ie much more towards morning. ”The comet is said to have“ vanished ”within 8 months. Similar unrealistic information about a particularly long appearance of this comet has been widely spread. In the same script there is the entry for the year 1241: “Iſt in Engelland under King Heinrich III. a terrifying comet in which Jenner / has given for about 30 days. ”This is probably an incorrect dating of the comet from 1240.
The comet reached a magnitude of 0 mag on February 2nd .
Superstition
The Italian scribe Rolandino of Padua reports in his Cronica in factis et circa facta Marchie Trivixane that the people of Treviso saw a comet appear in the west at the end of January 1240. He adds that "it was said that the Margraviate of Este would pass into other hands this year as such a sign indicated something like this".
The Byzantine scholar Georgios Akropolites reports in his Chronikē syngraphē about a solar eclipse that takes place at midday in summer, which is said to have been a omen for the death of Empress Irene Komnene soon afterwards . It must have been the solar eclipse of June 3rd, 1239. In the same context, he mentions a comet that appeared in the north half a year before the death of the empress and was observed in different parts of the sky for three months.
The Italian painter Antonio Campi reported in his chronicle of the city of Cremona in the 16th century :
“MCCXL. […] Apparue nel fine di queſto anno vna terribile, e ſpauentoſa Cometa verſo Occidente, il che fú forſe ſegno delle future calamità. ”
"1240. […] At the end of this year a terrible and frightening comet appeared in the west, this was perhaps a sign of future disasters. "
Orbit
In 1917 Sinkiti Ogura could only determine a very uncertain parabolic orbit for the comet from 3 observations over 22 days , which is inclined by around 75 ° to the ecliptic . At the point of the orbit closest to the sun ( perihelion ), which the comet passed around January 21, 1240, it was located at a distance of about 100 million km from the sun in the area just inside the orbit of Venus. Around February 2, it came close to Earth to about 0.36 AU / 54 million km, which was the reason for its great brightness. Around February 6th, it still approached Venus within about 27 million km.
Due to the uncertain initial data, no statement can be made as to whether and, if so, when the comet could return to the inner solar system .
See also
Web links
- Albertus Magnus window of the St. Andreas church in Cologne . Albertus Magnus is shown observing the comet of 1240 with a telescope (not yet invented at the time) .
Individual evidence
- ^ A b G. W. Kronk: Cometography - A Catalog of Comets, Volume 1. Ancient – 1799 . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1999, ISBN 978-0-521-58504-0 , pp. 215-217.
- ^ J. Williams: Observations of Comets, from BC 611 to AD 1640. Strangeways and Walden, London 1871, p. 63 ( archive.org ).
- ^ Richard von San Germano: Ryccardi de Sancto Germano notarii Chronica. In: GH Pertz (Ed.): Monumenta Germaniae Historica. Vol. 19. Hannover 1866, p. 379 ( online ).
- ^ Matthew Paris: Chronica Majora. Vol. IV. In: HR Luard (Ed.): Rerum Britannicarum Medii Ævi Scriptores. London 1877, p. 4 ( archive.org ).
- ↑ Annales Prioratus de Wigornia. In: HR Luard (Ed.): Annales Monastici. Vol. IV. London 1869, p. 431 ( online ).
- ^ Albertus Magnus: De Meteoris. Liber Primus, Tractatus III, Caput V. Lyon 1651, p. 18 ( online ).
- ^ AG Pingré: Cométographie ou Traité historique et théorique des comètes. Tome I. Imprimerie Royale, Paris 1783, pp. 403-404 ( archive.org ).
- ↑ JJ Wagner: Mr. Ludwig Lavaters / LG Hiſtoriſche narration vaſt all of the comets / Which of the birth of the Rom: Keiſers Auguſti / and the gracious birth of our Lord and Savior Jeſu Chriſti on / until the 1556th year; worn together out of vilerley historians. Zurich 1681, doi: 10.3931 / e-rara-324 , pp. 44-45; e-rara.ch (PDF; 27 MB).
- ↑ DK Yeomans: NASA JPL Solar System Dynamics: Great Comets in History. Retrieved October 25, 2016 .
- ↑ Five Millennium Catalog of Solar Eclipses: 1201 to 1300 (1201 CE to 1300 CE). NASA, accessed October 27, 2016 .
- ^ I. Bekker (ed.): Georgii Acropolitae Annales. Bonn 1836, pp. 67-69 ( online ).
- ↑ A. Campo: Cremona Fedelissima città, et nobilissima colonia de Romani. Cremona 1585, p. 40 ( archive.org ).
- ^ S. Ogura: On the orbits of two comets observed in Japan. In: Annales de l'Observatoire astronomique de Tokyo. Tome 5 - 3 e fasc, 1917, pp 18-20 (. Bibcode : 1917AOTok ... 5c ... 1O ).
- ↑ C / 1240 B1 in the Small-Body Database of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (English).
- ↑ A. Vitagliano: SOLEX 11.0. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on September 18, 2015 ; accessed on May 2, 2014 .