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Health & Science4h 0m ago
University of Leicester historian James Aitcheson argues that the Benedictine monk Eilmer of Malmesbury likely saw two different comets, rather than Halley's Comet twice, challenging previous assumptions.
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Malmesbury, England
Who
Eilmer of Malmesbury, William of Malmesbury, James Aitcheson, Edmund Halley
What
University of Leicester historian James Aitcheson argues that the Benedictine monk Eilmer of Malmesbury likely saw two different comets, rather than Halley's Comet twice, challenging previous assumptions.
When
Sun, 14 Jun 2026 16:02:53 GMT · 4h 0m ago
Where
Malmesbury, England ·
Why
Aitcheson suggests Eilmer may have seen the comet of 1018 in his youth and then Halley's Comet in 1066, rather than Halley's Comet in both 989 and 1066.
The Frontline Impact
How this affects you
This reinterpretation challenges the idea that Eilmer understood the periodicity of Halley's Comet centuries before Edmund Halley and suggests medieval sky-watchers may not have been able to distinguish between different comets.
Story chain
8 events in this thread- Health & Science4h 0m agoJames Aitcheson of the University of Leicester argues that medieval monk Eilmer of Malmesbury likely saw the comet of 1018, not an earlier pass of Halley's Comet in 989, thereby challenging recent speculation about Eilmer's understanding of comet periodicity.Open article
- Health & Science4h 0m agoJames Aitcheson of the University of Leicester suggests that Eilmer of Malmesbury may have seen a different comet in 1018, rather than an earlier fly-by of Halley's Comet.Open article
- Currently Reading4h 0m agoUniversity of Leicester historian James Aitcheson argues that the Benedictine monk Eilmer of Malmesbury likely saw two different comets, rather than Halley's Comet twice, challenging previous assumptions.
- Health & Science4h 0m agoA historian from the University of Leicester suggests that Eilmer of Malmesbury, a Benedictine monk, may have seen two different comets in his lifetime, rather than Halley's Comet twice.Open article
- Health & Science4h 0m agoJames Aitcheson of the University of Leicester argues that Eilmer of Malmesbury may have seen a different comet altogether in his youth—the comet of 1018, not Halley's Comet in 989.Open article
- Health & Science4h 0m agoUniversity of Leicester historian James Aitcheson suggests that Eilmer of Malmesbury, a monk known for an early flight attempt, likely saw two different comets in his lifetime rather than two appearances of Halley's Comet.Open article
- Health & Science4h 0m agoUniversity of Leicester historian James Aitcheson suggests that the medieval monk Eilmer of Malmesbury may have seen two different comets, rather than Halley's Comet twice, challenging recent speculation.Open article
- Health & Science4h 0m agoHistorian James Aitcheson argues in a new paper that the medieval monk Eilmer of Malmesbury likely saw two different comets in his lifetime, rather than two appearances of Halley's Comet.Open article