Ancient Greeks May Have Spotted Halley's Comet

By Douglas V. Gibbs

According to BBC, about the same time a large meteorite hit northern Greece between 466 BC and 467 BC, there is also evidence that the Greeks were watching Halley's Comet. . . placing the first recorded sighting of the comet 226 years before first believed. Chinese astronomers recorded viewing the comet in 240 BC.

Aristotle, nearly a century later, wrote about the event.

To verify that the comet did in fact make a pass during the time period in question, astronomers from Brigham Young University reconstructed the comet's path, and calculated that the comet could have been visible during the time period considered.

Though the Chinese and Babylonians kept better records than the Greeks, evidence suggests the Greeks did in fact experience Halley's Comet.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Halley's comet 'was spotted by the ancient Greeks' - BBC