Edmond Halley was a British astronomer who studied comets and improved the understanding of the solar system. His comet orbit calculations are his main achievement..

Edmond Halley was born near London, England on October 29, 1656. His father was a wealthy soapmaker and salter. Throughout his life, Edmond received money and support from his father to continue his studies and work. After attending St. Paul’s School, Edmond entered Queen’s College at Oxford University at age 17. Edmond’s father gave him a telescope to use in studying the stars and planets. Shortly after he arrived at Oxford, he wrote to the Royal Astronomer, John Flamsteed, about errors in the tables of stars and the Moon. This activity made other scientists notice Halley.

At age 19, he made a scientific voyage to improve the accuracy of Southern Hemisphere star maps. This was important because these maps were vital navigational tools. His work on the star maps was so good that the Royal Society, a British scientific group, elected him a Fellow at age 22.

In 1680, Halley saw the Great Comet and he became interested in finding out more about comets. Throughout his life, he would periodically continue his study of comets.

Halley became good friends with Sir Isaac Newton. Newton explained the calculations that showed how planets moved around the Sun. As a result of their friendship, Halley urged Newton to write a book of his findings. Halley paid for the publication of Newton’s famous book, Philosophide Naturalis Principia Marthematica.

During his fourteen years as corresponding clerk and secretary of the Royal Society, Halley returned to his study of comets. He studied all records of earlier comets and their paths across the sky. He especially studied comet appearances in 1456, 1531, 1607, and 1682. Halley found out that these comets were really the same one returning on a regular path. He predicted the comet’s arrival in late 1758. This prediction could not be totally accurate because the planets’ gravitational pull would change the length of the comet’s return trip.

After Flamsteed’s death, Halley was named Royal Astronomer. His interests went beyond astronomy. He studied tides, water vapor, monsoons, barometric pressure, and archaeology. He also designed a diving bell and a diving helmet. He did not live long enough to see his comet’s predicted return. Many scientists watched for the comet and saw it return as Halley said. The comet was named for him and still passes Earth. Its last visit was in 1986.

Halley made many scientific contributions during his life.  His comet studies, in particular, were very important.

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