Great Comet of 1843

C/1843 D1
(Great Comet of 1843)
	A painting of the sungrazing Great Comet of 1843, as seen from Tasmania, by Mary Morton Allport
Discovery
Discovery date	February 5, 1843
Designations
Alternative designations	Great March Comet, 1843 I, 1843 D1
Orbital characteristics
Observation arc	45 days
Number of; observations	200
Orbit type	Kreutz sungrazer
Aphelion	156 AU
Perihelion	0.00553 AU (827 thousand km)
Semi-major axis	78 AU
Eccentricity	0.99993
Orbital period	600–800? yr
Max. orbital speed	566.6 km/s
Inclination	144.4°
Last perihelion	February 27, 1843
Next perihelion	unknown

The Great Comet of 1843, formally designated C/1843 D1 and 1843 I, was a long-period comet which became very bright in March 1843 (it is also known as the Great March Comet). It was discovered on February 5, 1843, and rapidly brightened to become a great comet. It was a member of the Kreutz Sungrazers, a family of comets resulting from the breakup of a parent comet (X/1106 C1) into multiple fragments in about 1106. These comets pass extremely close to the surface of the Sun—within a few solar radii—and often become very bright as a result.

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Great Comet of 1843

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