C/1702 H1 (also known as "the comet of 1702") is a comet discovered by

Maria Margaretha Kirch Maria Margaretha Kirch (''née'' Winckelmann, in historic sources named Maria Margaretha Kirchin; 25 February 1670 – 29 December 1720) was a German astronomer. She was one of the first famous astronomers of her period due to her writing on ...

in Germany on April 20, 1702.

1702 apparition

Kirch discovered the comet on April 20, 1702. The comet was a short distance above the horizon and was said to resemble a "nebulous star". An independent discovery was made by Philippe de La Hire (Paris, France) on April 24. The last observation of the comet was made by Bianchini and Maraldi on May 5, 1702.

Orbit

Very similar parabolic orbits were computed for C/1702 H1 by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille (1761) and Johann Karl Burckhardt (1807).

Closest approaches to Earth

*1702-04-20: 0.0435 AU from Earth

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:C 1702 H1 Non-periodic comets 1702 in science 17020420