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Edmond Halley Memorial

It holds a fabulously designed tribute to astronomer Edmond Halley.

London, England

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Tribute to Edmond Halley   Shogachan / Atlas Obscura User
Edmond Halley, 1656-1742, Astronomer Royal   Godfrey Kneller
Side view of the memorial, on the garden walls among other memorials.   SanJosway / Atlas Obscura User
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A tribute to astronomer Edmond Halley is mounted on a wall in the south cloister of Westminster Abbey. It depicts a stylized comet made of brilliant blue stone with gold accents. Halley's many contributions to science are enumerated on the comet's undulating tail streams.

As stated in an inscription on the plaque, it was placed to commemorate Halley's Comet's visit to the inner Solar System in 1986. During that trip, it became the first comet to be observed in detail by spacecraft, specifically the European Space Agency's Giotto. An illustration of Giotto appears in the middle of the comet. The next time Halley's Comet will be visible from Earth will be in mid-2061.

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Published

August 29, 2023

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