Gottfried Kirch discovers the Great Comet of 1680

It Happened on
November 04, 1680

C/1680 V1, also called the Great Comet of 1680, Kirch's Comet, and Newton's Comet, was the first comet discovered by telescope. It was discovered by Gottfried Kirch and was one of the brightest comets of the seventeenth century. While the Kirch Comet of 1680–1681 was discovered by—and subsequently named for—Gottfried Kirch, credit must also be given to Eusebio Kino, the Spanish Jesuit priest who charted the comet’s course.

9 months later is born


born on August 05, 1681

Vitus Bering

Danish cartographer and explorer in Russian service, and an officer in the Russian Navy

born on December 18, 1639

Gottfried Kirch

Gottfried Kirch was a German astronomer and the first 'Astronomer Royal' in Berlin and, as such, director of the nascent Berlin Observatory