Article: Halley's Comet

Question: Which year approaches came within 0.09 AU of Earth?
Answer: The approaches in 374 and 607 AD each came within 0.09 AU of Earth.
Evidence table:
Designation
Year BC/AD
Gap (years)
Date of perihelion
Visible duration
Closest approach
Description
1P/−239 K1, −239
240 BC
–
15 May
15 – 25 May
-
First confirmed sighting.
1P/−163 U1, −163
164 BC
76
20 May
-
-
Seen by Babylonians.
1P/−86 Q1, −86
87 BC
77
15 August
6 – 19 August
-
Seen by the Babylonians and Chinese.
1P/−11 Q1, −11
12 BC
75
8 October
August – 10 October
0.16 AU
Watched by Chinese for two months.
1P/66 B1, 66
66
78
26 January
25 – 26 January
-
May be the comet described in Josephus's The Jewish War as 'A comet of the kind called Xiphias, because their tails appear to represent the blade of a sword' that supposedly heralded the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD.
1P/141 F1, 141
141
75
25 March
22 – 25 March
-
Described by the Chinese as bluish-white in colour. Described in Tamil literature and death of Chera (Yanaikatchai Mantaran Cheral Irumporai) king after appearance of comet.
1P/218 H1, 218
218
77
6 April
6 April – 17 May
-
Described by the Roman historian Dion Cassius as 'a very fearful star'.
1P/295 J1, 295
295
77
7 April
7 – 20 April
-
Seen in China, but not spectacular.
1P/374 E1, 374
374
79
13 February
13 – 16 February
0.09 AU
Comet passed 13.5 million kilometres from Earth.
1P/451 L1, 451
451
77
3 July
28 June – 3 July
-
Appeared before the defeat of Attila the Hun at the Battle of Chalons.
1P/530 Q1, 530
530
79
15 November
27 September – 15 November
-
Noted in China and Europe, but not spectacular.
1P/607 H1, 607
607
77
26 March
15 – 26 March
0.09 AU
Comet passed 13.5 million kilometres from Earth.
1P/684 R1, 684
684
77
26 November
2 October – 26 November
-
First known Japanese records of the comet. Seen in Europe and depicted 800 years later in the Nuremberg Chronicle.
1P/760 K1, 760
760
76
10 June
20 May – 10 June
-
Seen in China, at the same time as another comet.
1P/837 F1, 837
837
77
25 February
25 – 28 February
0.03 AU
Closest-ever approach to the Earth (5 million km). Tail stretched halfway across the sky. Appeared as bright as Venus.
1P/912 J1, 912
912
75
27 July
18 – 27 July
-
Seen briefly in China and Japan.
1P/989 N1, 989
989
77
2 September
2 – 5 September
-
Seen in China, Japan, and (possibly) Korea.
1P/1066 G1, 1066
1066
77
25 March
January – 25 March
0.10 AU
Seen for over two months in China. Recorded in England and depicted on the later Bayeux tapestry which portrayed the events of that year.
1P/1145 G1, 1145
1145
79
19 April
15 – 19 April
-
Depicted on the Eadwine Psalter, with the remark that such 'hairy stars' appeared rarely, 'and then as a portent'.
1P/1222 R1, 1222
1222
77
10 September
10 – 28 September
-
Described by Japanese astronomers as being 'as large as the half Moon ..
1P/1301 R1, 1301
1301
79
22 October
22 – 31 October
-
Seen by Giotto di Bondone and included in his painting The Adoration of the Magi. Chinese astronomers compared its brilliance to that of the first-magnitude star Procyon.
1P/1378 S1, 1378
1378
77
9 November
9 – 14 November
-
Passed within 10 degrees of the north celestial pole, more northerly than at any time during the past 2000 years. This is the last appearance of the comet for which Oriental records are better than Western ones.
1P/1456 K1, 1456
1456
78
8 January
8 January – 9 June
-
Observed in Italy by Paolo Toscanelli, who said its head was 'as large as the eye of an ox', with a tail 'fan-shaped like that of a peacock'.
1P/1531 P1, 1531
1531
75
26 August
26 August
-
Seen by Peter Apian, who noted that its tail always pointed away from the Sun. This sighting was included in Halley's table.
1P/1607 S1, 1607
1607
76
27 October
27 October
-
Seen by Johannes Kepler. This sighting was included in Halley's table.
1P/1682 Q1, 1682
1682
75
15 September
15 September
-
Seen by Edmond Halley at Islington.
1P/1758 Y1, 1759 I
1758
76
13 March
13 March – 25 December
-
Return predicted by Halley. First seen by Johann Palitzsch on 1758 December 25.
1P/1835 P1, 1835 III
1835
77
16 November
August – 16 November
-
First seen at the Vatican Observatory in August. Studied by John Herschel at the Cape of Good Hope.
1P/1909 R1, 1910 II, 1909c
1910
75
20 April
20 April – 20 May
-
Photographed for the first time. Earth passed through the comet's tail on 20 May.
1P/1982 U1, 1986 III, 1982i
1986
76
9 February
9 February
0.586 AU
Reached perihelion on 9 February, closest to Earth (63 million km) on 11 April. Nucleus photographed by the European space probe Giotto and the Russian probes Vega 1 and 2.
-
2061
75
28 July
28 July 2061
-
Next return of Halley's comet.