# Canonical recap data for Halley's Comet Observed (1758)
# Source: https://recap.at/1758/halleys-comet-return
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: halleys-comet-return
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1758/halleys-comet-return"
title: Halley's Comet Observed
aliases:
- Return of Halley's Comet
- Halley's Comet 1758
- First predicted comet return
subtitle: Edmond Halley's prediction of the comet's return confirmed orbital mechanics and became a landmark moment in the history of astronomy.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1758-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1758
decade: 1750
summaryShort: |-

  In numerical analysis, Halley's method is a root-finding algorithm used for functions of one real variable with a continuous second derivative. Edmond Halley was an English mathematician and astronomer who introduced the method now called by his name.
summaryLong: |-

  In numerical analysis, Halley's method is a root-finding algorithm used for functions of one real variable with a continuous second derivative. Edmond Halley was an English mathematician and astronomer who introduced the method now called by his name.
lede: Edmond Halley's prediction came true on Christmas night 1758, when his namesake comet reappeared in the night sky exactly as he'd calculated it would 16 years after his death. The sighting vindicated his revolutionary 1705 claim that certain comets return on predictable cycles, transforming comets from omens into objects governed by the same physics as planets.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2a/Lspn_comet_halley.jpg/1280px-Lspn_comet_halley.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Halley's Comet"
importance: 82
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Prediction date
  value: "1705"
- label: Predicted return interval
  value: 75-76 years
- label: Observation date
  value: December 25, 1758
- label: Years after Halley's death
  value: "16"
- label: Previous recorded appearance
  value: "1682"
- label: Observer who confirmed it
  value: Johann Georg Palitzsch (German astronomer)
timeline:
- date: 1682-09-05
  title: Halley observes the comet
  description: Edmond Halley observes a bright comet from London, which will later be named after him.
- date: 1705-01-01
  title: Halley predicts the return
  description: Halley publishes his 'Synopsis Astronomica,' predicting the comet's return around 1758 based on orbital calculations and historical records extending back to 1305.
- date: 1742-01-14
  title: Halley dies
  description: Edmond Halley dies at age 85 in Greenwich, without living to see his prediction confirmed.
- date: 1758-12-25
  title: Comet observed at perihelion
  description: Johann Georg Palitzsch in Saxony becomes the first to sight Halley's Comet on its predicted return, confirming Halley's calculations were correct.
- date: 1759-04-01
  title: Comet reaches peak visibility
  description: The comet reaches its brightest point in the night sky, visible to the naked eye across Europe for several weeks.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halley's_method"
  title: Halley's method
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: The 1758 observation of Halley's Comet was the first successful prediction of a celestial event based on gravitational mechanics rather than observation or tradition. It provided irrefutable proof that Newton's laws applied beyond Earth and the Moon, legitimizing mathematical astronomy as a tool for understanding the cosmos.
categories:
- festival
metaDescription: Halley's Comet returned in 1758, fulfilling Edmond Halley's 1705 prediction and proving comets obey Newtonian physics.
wikidataQid: Q1476051
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260604175625/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halley%27s_method"
  capturedAt: 2026-06-04
  label: Halley's method
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halley's_method"
