The Perseid meteor shower, due to peak this weekend, should put on a nice show — but an even more spectacular, if not stormy, meteor display may be in the cards four years from now.
Exactly 162 summers ago, skywatchers were admiring a beautiful new comet. Discovered in mid-July 1862 by Americans Lewis Swift and Horace Tuttle, the new object became favorably positioned high in the northern sky through the remainder of the summer. During the last week of August of that year, the comet was at its best, shining at second magnitude and displaying a long, bright tail. In telescopes, luminous jets of nebulosity blossomed outward from a bright, highly condensed nucleus.
