Engraving of Edmund Halley (1656-1742), an English astromoner. Halley showed that comets move around the sun in accordance with Newton's theory of gra
Engraving of Edmund Halley (1656-1742), an English astromoner. Halley showed that comets move around the sun in accordance with Newton's theory of gravitation. He noticed that the orbits of the comets of 1531, 1607 & 1682 were similar & conculded that it was a single comet in a closed but very elongated orbit about the sun, visible only when it was close to the earth. He calculated that it would reappear in 1758, sixteen years after his own death, which it did & was given his name. Halley was made astronomer royal in 1720. The engraving is from Great Astronomers by Sir Robert S. Ball, FRS; published by Ibister & Co., London (1895).
Size: 3780px × 4563px
Photo credit: © DR JEREMY BURGESS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: astronomer, comet, discoverer, edmund, halley, portraits, surname
