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Comet Biela

Comet 3D/Biela

A short-period comet taking just 6.6 years to complete its orbit of the Sun, passing no further than the orbit of Jupiter before beginning its inward journey through the Solar System. After Comets Halley and Encke, Comet Biela was only the third comet whose orbit was calculated and confirmed as periodic. This was done in 1826 by Wilhelm von Biela, who gave his name to the comet (though under controversial circumstances, as the comet had been observed, and its orbit calculated, but several other astronomers).

As predicted, Biela's Comet returned to the inner Solar System in 1832 and 1840, but on its return in 1846 it was observed to have broken into at least two parts and possibly more, an event that seems to have occurred as the comet reached the farthest point on its orbital path from the Sun. The stricken comet returned in 1852, but was never seen again, and is presumed to have disintegrated (hence the 'D' in its designation '3D/Biela'). Though the comet itself was lost, it left remnants along its orbital path, and in 1872 (twenty years after the comet was last seen) these remnants gave rise to a new meteor shower, named the Andromedids. Though notably intense for several years, the Andromedids eventually faded, and have not been seen for a century or more.

Though the last definite sighting of Comet Biela was in 1852, its destruction has not been absolutely confirmed, and occasional attempts to locate fragments of the comet continue to the present. To date, none have met with any conclusive success.