Buzz
Comets can disappear. It might sound odd, but it’s true. These massive celestial bodies, with their distinct tails, are hard to miss. And no, it’s not like they’re getting abducted by aliens. Yet, at times, they simply vanish.
The mystery of missing comets puzzles astronomers. Often, they believe the comet may have disintegrated or was ejected from our solar system after getting too close to a planet. Jupiter, for one, is quite notorious for this. But a definitive explanation is elusive. For all we know, the comet might still be out there but could be hidden from view due to certain factors. Some comets have even disappeared only to reappear and vanish again.
10. Great Comet of 1264
The Great Comet of 1264 graced the skies between July and October of that year. It was visible during the day but most prominent just before dawn. This comet appeared during a time when comets were often seen as harbingers of doom.
At the time, people believed comets were omens sent by supernatural forces, capable of causing death, floods, and disease. This superstition was strengthened when Pope Urban IV fell ill just as the comet appeared. He passed away on October 3, 1264, the final day the comet was visible. It was rumored that the comet caused the pope’s death.
A similarly brilliant comet appeared in 1556 and was aptly named the Great Comet of 1556. In 1778, astronomer Guy Pingre suggested that the comets of 1264 and 1556 were one and the same. He proposed that it returned every 292 years and predicted its return in 1848. However, the comet did not reappear.
According to Pingre’s calculations, the comet should return in 2140. However, there is no indication that this will happen, implying that this entry could involve two missing comets.
9. Biela's Comet
Biela's Comet was first discovered by Jacques Leibax Montaigne on March 8, 1772. It was later rediscovered by Jean-Louis Pons in 1805 and Wilhelm von Biela in 1826. While Pons did not realize the comet had been seen before, Biela recognized its earlier observations and identified it as sharing the same orbit as the comets noted by Montaigne and Pons.
Biela's Comet was seen in 1832, 1846, and 1852 before vanishing. It's unclear whether the comet broke apart or if another celestial object altered its orbit. However, the majority of astronomers believe the comet disintegrated. Some even speculated that Comet NEAT (207P/NEAT) could be a fragment of Biela's Comet.
Author Mel Waskin suggested that Biela's Comet did indeed break apart. In his book, *Mrs. O’Leary’s Comet: Cosmic Causes of the Great Chicago Fire*, Waskin argued that Biela’s comet fragmented into two smaller comets in 1845. One piece continued to be tracked by astronomers, while the other allegedly crashed into Earth in 1871. Waskin claimed this impact triggered several devastating fires, including the Great Chicago Fire, and the fires in Peshtigo, Wisconsin, and Manistee, Michigan, all of which occurred on October 8, 1871.
8. Caesar's Comet
The enigmatic Caesar’s Comet is possibly the brightest comet ever recorded. It appeared in 44 BC, captured widespread attention, and was thoroughly documented before it disappeared. The comet is named after the renowned Roman general and statesman Julius Caesar, who was assassinated on March 15 of the same year.
Caesar's Comet was visible in July, four months after the death of Julius Caesar. During this time, the Romans were celebrating the Ludi Victoriae Caesaris games in honor of Caesar. The comet was strikingly bright and easily visible during the day, and it lingered in the sky for seven days before vanishing.
It was widely believed that the comet represented the soul of Julius Caesar. This theory wasn't surprising, as Caesar himself had often proclaimed his divinity. His family also claimed descent from Aeneas, the supposed founder of Rome, and Venus, the goddess of love.
However, 44 BC remains the only recorded appearance of Caesar’s Comet. It is thought to be a nonperiodic comet, meaning it doesn’t orbit the Sun. As a result, it might never return. Others speculate that it may have broken into smaller fragments.
7. Brorsen's Comet
Brorsen's Comet (also known as 5D/Brorsen) was first observed by Theodor Brorsen on February 26, 1846. It remained visible until April 22, after which it moved too far away to be observed. Johann Franz Encke initially suggested that it returned every 3.44 years, but later estimates put the period closer to 5.5 years.
Brorsen's Comet was expected to return in September 1851, but it failed to appear. However, it made a comeback in March 1857, when it was rediscovered by Karl Christian Bruhns. Bruhns didn't initially realize he had found the missing comet until it was confirmed that his discovery wasn't a new comet, but rather the previously lost Brorsen's Comet.
The comet made another appearance in 1862, but it wasn't observed. It showed up again in 1868 and was spotted by astronomers. Meanwhile, scientists had already noted that the comet always passed dangerously close to Jupiter, whose gravity was altering its orbit. It was expected to return in 1874, but it appeared a year earlier, thanks to Jupiter's influence on its trajectory.
Brorsen's Comet was seen for the last time in 1879. It was expected to return in 1884, 1895, 1901, and other years that followed, but it never did. In 1973, astronomers made an extensive search for it, anticipating another flyby, but the comet was never found and remains missing to this day.
6. Comet Lexell
Comet Lexell came as close as 2.2 million kilometers to Earth, making it the nearest comet to ever approach our planet. It was first seen in 1770 by Charles Messier. The comet earned its name after Anders Johan Lexell calculated its orbit and determined that it would end near Jupiter. Lexell predicted that the comet would return every five and a half years.
Comet Lexell was expected to make a return in 1776, but it never did. It never appeared again after that. Urbain Le Verrier concluded that the comet’s orbit had been altered after it came too close to Jupiter. Jupiter's gravitational pull either expanded its orbit, meaning it could potentially return in the future, or it ejected the comet from our solar system entirely.
5. Great Daylight Comet of 1910
In January 1910, as skywatchers eagerly anticipated the arrival of Halley’s Comet, another unexpected comet appeared in the sky. This comet, later known as the Great Daylight Comet of 1910, was so incredibly bright that it was visible during the daytime. It was five times brighter than Venus.
Miners in South Africa are thought to have been the first to spot the comet on January 12. The comet quickly made its way across the United States, where enterprising individuals set up ‘comet-watching parties’ to let the public observe it through telescopes. The comet remained visible until early February but has never been seen again since.
Interestingly, the Great Daylight Comet of 1910 outshone Halley’s Comet, which arrived just a few months later. When Halley’s Comet returned in 1985–1986, some individuals who claimed to have witnessed it in 1910 ended up describing the Great Daylight Comet instead.
4. Comet Perrine-Mrkos
Comet Perrine-Mrkos was first spotted by Charles Dillon Perrine on December 9, 1896. Perrine initially believed he had discovered part of the lost Biela’s Comet, which was thought to have disintegrated. He predicted the comet would return in 1903, but it was never observed.
The comet reappeared in 1909, but then remained unseen for a period. It was expected to return in 1916, although its visibility would have been so faint that no one made any effort to search for it. The comet was anticipated to show up again in 1922 and 1929, but neither of these predictions proved accurate.
Finally, on October 19, 1955, Comet Perrine-Mrkos was observed once more, this time by Antonin Mrkos. Mrkos initially thought it was either a new comet or a fragment of the disbanded Biela’s Comet. However, Leland E. Cunningham eventually determined that it was neither. Instead, it was the previously lost comet first discovered by Perrine.
Astronomers observed that the orbit of Comet Perrine-Mrkos had changed by the time it was rediscovered by Mrkos. This alteration was due to the comet's frequent close encounters with Jupiter, which has been known to influence the orbits of passing comets by flinging them out of the solar system. Despite this, the comet remained visible in the sky until February 1956.
Following that, the comet was considered lost again until it reappeared in 1961 and 1968. However, it was declared missing once more when it failed to appear in 1975.
3. 83D/Russell
83D/Russell, initially known as 83P/Russell, was discovered by Kenneth S. Russell on June 16, 1979, and remained visible until August 14. M.P. Candy calculated its orbit, predicting it would return every 7.43 years. However, Daniel W.E. Green disagreed, forecasting the comet would return in 6.13 years.
Green's prediction proved accurate. 83D/Russell reappeared in April 1985, first observed by J. Gibson on April 9. It was visible until June 17. Afterward, the comet passed too close to Jupiter, and the planet's gravitational influence altered its orbit, extending its perihelion distance from 1.61 to 2.18 astronomical units.
At the time, astronomers predicted that the comet's altered orbit might make it disappear. Indeed, that was the last time the comet was ever seen. It was expected to return in 1991 and 1998, but unfavorable conditions prevented its observation. Although conditions were anticipated to improve in 2006, the comet was not sighted, and it remains missing.
2. 75D/Kohoutek
75D/Kohoutek was discovered by Lubos Kohoutek in February 1975. It is often confused with the more famous Comet Kohoutek. Astronomers determined that 75D/Kohoutek would not have been visible from Earth if Jupiter hadn't altered its orbit on July 28, 1972.
75D/Kohoutek was expected to return approximately every seven years. It was visible in 1988 but was declared missing after it failed to reappear in 1994. The comet was also absent in 2000, 2007, and 2014. If it returns in March 2021, astronomers will remove its 'missing' label.
1. Comet Boethin
Comet Boethin was discovered by Reverend Leo Boethin on January 4, 1975. Astronomers calculated its orbit and predicted it would return in 11 years. Their predictions were accurate when the comet reappeared in January 1986, exactly 11 years later. It was observed by multiple astronomers until March 1.
Comet Boethin was expected to return in April 1997, but it never reappeared. If it did, it went unnoticed. Eventually, astronomers declared it missing when it failed to return in December 2008.
NASA was so confident that Comet Boethin would return that they once planned to send their Deep Impact spacecraft to intercept it. The spacecraft was launched in 2005 and remained in orbit around the Sun, anticipating the arrival of Comet Boethin, which never came. It is now suspected that the comet may have broken apart.
