In 1682 Edmond Halley, an English
astronomer, mathematician and scientist computed the orbit of the
comet that appeared in the sky that year. He used the celestial
mechanics of Sir Isaac Newton to calculate the orbit of the comet, and
to determine that the same comet had previously appeared in 1531 and
1607. He predicted that it would reappear in 1758. It did, and the
comet was named for Halley. Further investigation has shown that there
are records of its appearance about every 76 years for 2000 years. The
stamps that follow show pre-twentieth century representations of the
comet.
This stamp shows some of Halley's notes concerning the
orbit of the comet.
The idea for this
collection came from Fire and Ice: A History of Comets in Art
by Roberta J. M. Olson, Walker and Co., 1985.
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