July 6, 1996
The universe does not repeat itself. Every sunrise is unique, every snowflake singular, and every birthday yours alone.
Edmond Halley's Greatest Discoveries
Birthday · July 6, 1996
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APOD published July 6, 1996. Full image credits are on the original APOD entry below. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Sir Edmond Halley was quite a discoverer. Born in 1656, he computed in 1705 that a bright comet was periodic and would make another appearance in 1758. The comet appeared as predicted and is now known as Comet Halley. Unfortunately, Halley died in 1742 and never saw his prediction come true. In 1716 Halley proposed two types of diving bells that would enable people to explore the deep sea. Halley pioneered our understanding of trade winds, tides, cartography, naval navigation, mortality tables, and stellar proper motions. Halley (incorrectly) proposed that the Earth was made of concentric spheres the size of the inner planets each of which might contain life. Perhaps Halley's greatest discovery, however, was that his contemporary Isaac Newton had discovered a powerful mathematical formulation of gravity.