South Downs Planetarium Trust - Halley: Most Famous Comet of them All

Comet P/Halley as photographed on 8 March 1986 by William Liller, Easter Island (Image courtesy NASA/NSSDC)

H a l l e y : M o s t F a m o u s C o m e t o f t h e m A l l

A special show about this famous occasional visitor from space

Important Notice:
At the start of a Planetarium show, your eyes will take a few minutes to adapt to the dark. For this reason, latecomers cannot be admitted. To avoid this, please ensure that you arrive at least 15 minutes before the start time.
The dates and times are:
Friday, 8th January 7.30 pm Friday, 29th January 7.30 pm
Admission Prices: £6.00 for adults, or £4.00 for children under 16.
PLEASE NOTE that we are unable to accept credit or debit cards at present.
This show is suitable for children age 6 and upwards.
ALL SHOWS LAST ABOUT AN HOUR.
As space in our star theatre is limited, visitors for the public presentations are strongly advised to book tickets in advance to avoid disappointment.
Tickets may be reserved by telephoning the Planetarium on 01243 774400, or the ticketline on 07818 297292.
If we are unable to deal with your telephone request for information immediately, please leave your name and telephone number and the nature of your enquiry and we shall call you back as soon as we can.
Tickets for the public presentations are also available, to personal callers only, from the Tourist Information Office in South Street, Chichester.

The nucleus of Halley's Comet from the Giotto spacecraft (Image courtesy of ESA and H.U. Keller, Max Planck Institut fur Aeronomie)

Of all the comets in the sky, there is none so famous as Halley's Comet. It returns to the inner Solar System every 75 or 76 years, and there are records of it going back over 3000 years. Indeed it has been seen at every return since that of 240 BC.

In April, 837 AD Halley's Comet was so bright it was visible in broad daylight and its tail stretched more than half-way across the sky. It was also seen six months before the Battle OF Hastings in 1066. It was observed by Edmond Halley himself in 1682, and it was he who realised that the comet was periodic, identifying it as one and the same comet which had been seen previously in 1531 and again in 1607. He predicted that it would return in 1758 (after his death) - and it did!

Come to the Planetarium to learn more about this most famous of all comets, particularly the observations made of it the last time it came by in 1985-86, when it was observed by spacecraft for the very first time,