词汇 | halley-s comet |
词源 | Halley’s comet. Halley’s comet, the first comet whose return was accurately predicted, was observed by English astronomer Edmund Halley in 1692, when he correctly estimated its reap- pearance in 1758, 16 years after his death, as it turned out. Hal- ley based his calculations on Newton’s theory; a long-time friend of the great scientist, he had paid for the initial printing of Newton’s Principia, collaborating on the section dealing with comets. Over his 86-year lifetime Halley made a number of im- portant discoveries, which resulted in his appointment as as- tronomer royal in 1720. The comet that blazons his name across the sky last appeared in 1986. Mark Twain was born when Hal- ley’s Comet appeared in 1835 and died—as he had predicted— when it appeared again in 1910. “It will be the greatest disap- pointment of my life if I don’t go out with Halley’s Comet,” he had written. “The Almighty has said, no doubt: ‘Now here are two unaccountable freaks; they came in together, they must go out together.’ ” |
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