The Great Comet of 1811 is discovered…
1811 CE
After being obscured for several days by moonlight, it is also found by Jean-Louis Pons on April 11, while Franz Xaver, Baron Von Zach is able to confirm Flaugergues' discovery the same night.
The first provisional orbit is computed in June by Johann Karl Burckhardt.
Based on these calculations, Heinrich Wilhelm Matthäus Olbers makes a prediction that the comet will go on to become extremely bright later this year.
Formally designated C/1811 F1, the Great Comet of 2011 is visible to the naked eye for around two hundred and sixty days, a record it will hold until the appearance of Comet Hale–Bopp in 1997.
In October 1811, at its brightest, it displays an apparent magnitude of 0, with an easily visible coma.
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West Europe
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