Great Comet of 1577

The Great Comet of 1577 is a non-periodic comet that passed close to Earth with first observation being possible in Peru on November 1 1577. final observation was made on January 26, 1578. The comet's official designation is C/1577 V1. Tycho Brahe was one the most distinguished observer of this comet making thousands of precise measurements about the comet. The observations made by Brahe led him to believing that the comet was outside of the orbit of the sun and moon. There were many independent observers of the comet from across the world. Many had different explanations for the comet some saw it as an evil omen like Sultan Murad III who saw the comet as a bad omen for war. Others looked at the comet for scientific explanations like Michael Mästlin who used the comet to fill gaps in Copernicus's system of the universe. Still others looked at and were inspired to create like artist Jiri Dschitzky who made an engraving of the comet as it passed over Prague. Currently, using JPL Horizons, it is believed that the comet is 324 AU (48.5 billion km) from the sun.