(It was also known as the "Temple of the Comet Star". The Temple of Divus Iulius (Temple of the Deified Julius) was built (42 BC) and dedicated (29 BC) by Augustus for purposes of fostering a "cult of the comet". The Comet became a powerful symbol in the political propaganda that launched the career of Caesar's great-nephew (and adoptive son) Augustus. According to Suetonius, as celebrations were getting underway, "a comet shone for seven successive days, rising about the eleventh hour, and was believed to be the soul of Caesar." The dating has recently been revised to a July occurrence in the same year, some four months after the assassination of Julius Caesar, as well as Caesar's own birth month. The bright, daylight-visible comet appeared suddenly during the festival known as the Ludi Victoriae Caesaris-for which the 44 BC iteration was long considered to have been held in the month of September (a conclusion drawn by Edmund Halley).
CAESAR DEATH FULL
At that distance, the Sun provides less light than the full Moon provides to Earth.Ĭaesar's Comet was known to ancient writers as the Sidus Iulium ("Julian Star") or Caesaris astrum ("Star of Julius Caesar"). This has not been confirmed because the later observations are similarly insufficiently accurate.) The parabolic orbital solution estimates that the comet would now be more than 800 AU (120 billion km) from the Sun. (In the 1800s a possible match was speculated which would give it a period of about 575 years. In the absence of accurate contemporary observations (or later observations confirming an orbit that predicts the earlier appearance), calculation of the comet's orbit is problematic and a parabolic orbit is conventionally assumed. At magnitude −4 it would have been as impressive as Venus.Īs a result of the cometary outburst in late July, Caesar's Comet is one of only five comets known to have had a negative absolute magnitude (for a comet, this refers to the apparent magnitude if the comet had been observed at a distance of 1 AU from both the Earth and the Sun ) and may have been the brightest daylight comet in recorded history. Around July 20, −43, the comet underwent an estimated 9 magnitude outburst in apparent magnitude and had a solar elongation of 88 degrees in the morning sky. Between June 10 and July 20 the comet would have dimmed from magnitude +1 to around magnitude +5. At perihelion the comet had a solar elongation of 11 degrees and is hypothesized to have had an apparent magnitude of around −3 as the Chinese report is not consistent with daytime visibility during May.
It came to perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) on May 25, −43 at a solar distance of about 0.22 AU (33 million km). The comet approached Earth both inbound in mid-May and outbound in early August.
It was perhaps the most famous comet of antiquity.īased on two sketchy reports from China (May 30) and Rome (July 23), an infinite number of orbit determinations can fit the observations, but a retrograde orbit is inferred based on available notes.
It was interpreted by Romans as a sign of the deification of recently assassinated dictator, Julius Caesar (100–44 BC). Comet Caesar, Sidus lulium "Julian Star", Caesaris astrum "Star of Caesar", C/−43 K1, Great comet of 44 BCĬaesar's Comet (also Sidus Iulium ("Julian Star") Caesaris astrum ("Star of Caesar") Comet Caesar the Great Comet of 44 BC numerical designation C/−43 K1) was a seven-day cometary outburst seen in July 44 BC.
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