Great Comet of 371 BC

The Great Comet of 372–371 BC (sometimes Aristotle's Comet) was a comet that is thought to possibly be the source of the Kreutz sungrazer family.[1][2]

The Great Comet was observed by Aristotle,[3] Ephorus,[4] and Callisthenes.[5] Ephorus reported that it split into two pieces,[4] a larger fragment that is thought to have possibly returned in 1106 AD, as X/1106 C1,[6] and another smaller fragment. While visible from Earth, it was said to have cast shadows at night comparable to a full moon.[3]

  1. ^ Marsden B.G. (1967), "The Sungrazing Comet Group", The Sungrazing Comet Group I, vol. 72, The Astronomical Journal, p. 1170, Bibcode:1967AJ.....72.1170M, doi:10.1086/110396
  2. ^ Marsden B.G. (1989), "The Sungrazing Comet Group II", The Astronomical Journal, 98: 2306, Bibcode:1989AJ.....98.2306M, doi:10.1086/115301
  3. ^ a b David A.J. Seargent (2008), "The Great Comet of (ca.) 372 B.C., Aristotle's Comet", The Greatest Comets in History, Springer Science & Business Media, ISBN 9780387095134
  4. ^ a b Donald K. Yeomans (1998). "Great Comets in History". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 2007-03-15.
  5. ^ England, K. J. (2002). "Early Sungrazer Comets" (PDF). Journal of the British Astronomical Association. 112: 13. Bibcode:2002JBAA..112...13E.
  6. ^ Williams, John (1871). "Observations of Comets: From 611 B.C. to A.D.1640 : Extracted from the Chinese annals". Royal Astronomical Society. Science and Technology. Retrieved 18 April 2014.