Episode 035 · Out Nov 8, 2026

Halley predicted the comet's return 53 years ahead – then missed it

In 1682 Edmond Halley (born 8 November 1656) tracked a bright comet. When the Royal Society ran out of money after publishing an expensive book about fish, Halley paid to print Newton's Principia himself – and was paid his salary in unsold copies of the fish book. In 1705 he showed that the comets of 1531, 1607 and 1682 were one and the same, returning about every 76 years, and wrote: "Hence I dare venture to foretell, that it will return again in the year 1758." Halley died in January 1742. On Christmas Day 1758 the Saxon farmer and amateur astronomer Johann Georg Palitzsch spotted it – right on time. Since 1759 it has carried Halley's name. Next visit: July 2061.

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