April 19, 1843 – The last day of appearance for the Great Comet of 1843. First observed in early February, the Comet is so brilliant that it is easily seen in broad daylight – roughly one degree away from the Sun!
In a rare postal letter – dated April 7, 1843, and written here in Iowa City by Edward Eastman, this one-page letter gives us a wonderful overview of early Johnson County. One subject Eastman talked about in his letter was The Comet…
First observed in early February, The Great Comet of 1843 was so brilliant that it was observed in broad daylight – roughly one degree away from the Sun! It passed closest to Earth on March 6, 1843, and was at its greatest brilliance the following day. The comet was last observed on April 19, 1843 – so when Edward Eastman wrote his letter in early April, the comet was, obviously, a topic of much conversation around the country.
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