The Great Comet of 1861 visible to the naked eye over North America and Europe

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John Tebbutt, an Australian sheep farmer and amateur astronomer in Windsor, New South Wales, discovered "the Great Comet of 1861" approaching Earth.  One of only eleven comets designated "Great" during the nineteenth century, it was disinctive for its angle of approach which had the Earth actually passing through a portion of its tail.  The comet became visible to the naked eye in the northern hemisphere on June 30, 1861 and remained so until mid-August, passing within 13 million miles.  (By John Osborne)
Source Citation
David A. Seargent, The Greatest Comets in History: Brown Stars and Celestial Scimitars (New York: Springer Science, 2009), 137-140.
    Date Certainty
    Exact
    Type
    Science/Technology
    How to Cite This Page: "The Great Comet of 1861 visible to the naked eye over North America and Europe," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/index.php/node/37000.