Great Comet of 1843

C/1843 D1
A painting of the sungrazing Great Comet of 1843, as seen from Tasmania, by Mary Morton Allport
Discovery
Discovery dateFebruary 5, 1843
Designations
Great Comet of 1843, Great March Comet, 1843 I, 1843 D1
Orbital characteristics
Observation arc45 days
Number of
observations		200
Orbit typeKreutz sungrazer
Aphelion156 AU[1]
Perihelion0.00553 AU (827 thousand km)
Semi-major axis78 AU[1]
Eccentricity0.99993[1]
Orbital period600–800? yr[2]
Max. orbital speed566.6 km/s[3]
Inclination144.4°
Last perihelionFebruary 27, 1843
Next perihelionunknown

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). It was discovered on February 5, 1843, and rapidly brightened to become a great comet. It was a member of the Kreutz Sungrazers, a family of comets resulting from the breakup of a parent comet (X/1106 C1) into multiple fragments in about 1106. These comets pass extremely close to the surface of the Sun—within a few solar radii—and often become very bright as a result.

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  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Chodas2008 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Perihelion was invoked but never defined (see the help page).