What is Caesar's Comet?
[[File:S0484.4.jpg|thumb|320px|right|Coin minted by [[Augustus]] (c. 19–18 BC)]] '''Caesar's Comet''' ('''C/-43 K1''') is also known as 'Comet Caesar' and the 'Great Comet of 44 BC'. It was one of the most famous [[comet]]s of ancient times.<ref>{{Cite book|publisher=Scholars Press |isbn=0788502735 |last1=Ramsey |first1=J. T. |last2=Licht |first2=A. L. |year=1997 |title=The Comet of 44 B.C. and Caesar's Funeral Games |location=Atlanta, GA}}</ref> Many Romans thought the comet's seven-day appearance was a sign of the [[deification]] of [[Assassination of Julius Caesar|recently assassinated dictator]], [[Julius Caesar]] (100–44 [[Before Christ|BC]]).<ref>Grant, Michael 1970. ''The Roman Forum''. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, p. 94.</ref> Caesar's Comet was one of only five comets known to have had a negative [[absolute magnitude]] and may have been the brightest daylight comet in [[history]].<ref>Flare-up on July 23–25, 44 BC ([[Rome]]): −4.0 (Richter model) and −9.0 (41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresák model); absolute magnitude on May 26, 44 BC (China): −3.3 (Richter) and −4.4 (41P/TGK); calculated in Ramsey and Licht, ''The Comet of 44 B.C. and Caesar's Funeral Games'', p. 236.</ref> It was not [[wikt:periodic|periodic]], and it had a [[parabola|parabolic]] orbit. The comet might now be more than 800 [[astronomical unit|AU]] from the Sun.<ref name=horizons>{{cite web |url=http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons.cgi?find_body=1&body_group=sb&sstr=-43K1|title=Horizon Online Ephemeris System|publisher=California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory|access-date=2015-11-16}}</ref> == References == {{reflist}} [[Category:Comets]]