THE GREAT COMET C/1743 X1: POSSIBLE IDENTIFICATION IN HISTORIC RECORDS OF 1402, 1032, 676, AND 336

The great comet of 1744, C/1743 X1, is notable for its brightness, which enabled it to be seen close to the Sun during the day and exhibit an impressive tail. One of the first orbit calculators, O.P. Hiorter, had already noted the comet’s resemblance to the great daylight comet C/1402 D1. This was later supported by H.W.M. Olbers and J. Holetschek. This paper re-evaluates the historic astrometry and shows that the data are fully compatible with the identity first suggested by Hiorter. Based on a tentative link of both apparitions, we show that the comets of 1032, 676, and possibly of 336 are also fully compatible with this comet based on the comparison with the historic records. We present a prediction for the next perihelion passage, which might occur at the end of 2097.