A celestial event seen by the ancient Greeks may be the earliest sighting of Halley's comet, new evidence suggests. According to ancient writers, a large meteorite smacked into northern Greece between 466BC and 467BC. The writers also described a comet in the sky at the time the meteorite fell to Earth, but this detail has received little attention, say the researchers.
Comet Halley would have been visible for about 80 days in 466BC, researchers write in the Journal of Cosmology. New Scientist magazine reports that, until now, the earliest probable sighting of the comet was an orbit in 240BC, an event recorded by Chinese astronomers. If the new findings are confirmed, the researchers will have pushed back the date of the first observation of Comet Halley by 226 years.
The latest idea is based on accounts by ancient authors and concerns a meteorite that is said to have landed in the Hellespont region of northern Greece in 466-467BC. The space rock fell during daylight hours and was about the size of "a wagon load", according to ancient sources. The object, described as having a "burnt colour", became a tourist attraction for more than 500 years.
In his work Meteorology [a sair em 2012 em português pelo INCM], Aristotle wrote about the event about a century after it occurred. He said that around the same time the meteorite fell, "a comet was visible in the west". [...] They [os astrónomos] calculated that Halley's comet could have been visible for about 80 days between early June and late August in 466BC - depending on atmospheric conditions and the darkness of the sky.
ler a notícia completa aqui.
Sem comentários:
Enviar um comentário