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John Tebbutt pp 139–171Cite as

The Great Comet of 1861:A Magnificent Career Catalyst

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Abstract

The Great Comet of 1861 (C/1861 J1) was one of the most spectacular comets of the nineteenth century and observations of its head and tail contributed to our understanding of cometary structure and behaviour. This comet was discovered by John Tebbutt, who was the first astronomer to compute its orbital elements and to forecast that the Earth would pass through its tail. Tebbutt utilised Sydney newspapers rather than academic journals to document his observations, and as a consequence he was involved in considerable public controversy. Despite this, Comet C/1861 J1 served as an ideal ‘career’ catalyst for John Tebbutt.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The following abbreviation is used: SL = Sydney Observatory Outward Letterbooks. TL = Letters to J. Tebbutt, bound manuscript letters in the Mitchell Library, Sydney.

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Acknowledgements

I wish to thank Gerard Hayes (State Library of Victoria), Professor Nick Lomb (University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba), the late Dr. Harley Wood (formerly Sydney Observatory), and staff at the Mitchell Library (Sydney) and the New South Wales Lands Department (Sydney) for their assistance in various ways, and the Mitchell Library, State Library of Victoria (Melbourne) and the Tasmanian Archives and Heritage Office (Hobart) for kindly supplying Figs. 6.2, 6.3, 6.6, 6.8, 6.9 and 6.13.

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  1. National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand, Suthep District, Muang, Chiang Mai, Thailand

    Wayne Orchiston

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Orchiston, W. (2017). The Great Comet of 1861:A Magnificent Career Catalyst. In: John Tebbutt. Historical & Cultural Astronomy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44521-2_6

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