Dossier
Eilmer of Malmesbury
Coverage of Eilmer of Malmesbury in the Nexus archive.
- Halley’s comet may be named after the wrong person
A medieval monk named Eilmer of Malmesbury may have discovered Halley's Comet nearly 700 years before Edmond Halley, sparking debate over whether the comet should be renamed. Eilmer recognized the comet in 1066 as the same one he witnessed in 989. This discovery is reevaluating the history of astronomy's greatest discoveries.