What did the ancients see of the comet? Records show that the astronomers had discovered
it up by September, if not before, so the news had time to spread during the ensuing
month.
It would have been a good apparition because, at its nearest on 27th September in 164
BCE, Halley's Comet was as close to the
Earth as it can ever come. (See the same
in video).
A sequence of sky charts and a trace of the orbits of Halley's Comet and the Earth will
show when the comet would have been most impressive.
Use the links in the left margin to look at the sky
sequence and then click 'Skies' to return to this page. Then look at the Halley video, (a frame at a time helps to
follow events).
This is a picture of Comet West, (1976)
It is similar in size to what Halley would have achieved at its best in 164 BCE
There was also the impressive conjunction of 3 planets and the comet around the 16th Kislev.
