The search for comets is not as romantic as one might believe. It requires hard work, total dedication, persistence, and a thorough knowledge of the sky.
Most comet hunters spend hundreds to thousands of hours searching before making a find.
Mitchell went on to become one of America's leading astronomers. The prize, instituted in 1831 by the Danish king Frederick VI, was for all discoveries of new telescopic comets. Mitchell joined the ranks of a dozen other distinguished gold medalists around the world, including the preeminent Johann Gottfried Galle at Berlin Observatory. When King Frederick's award ceased in 1848, the Vienna Academy of Sciences continued the tradition until about 1880. Both medals clearly inspired dedicated searches for new comets, but neither of them sparked stiff competition among comet hunters as did the generous offer by astronomy patron H. H. Warner.