Planisphere Donatis Comet Frame:Black stained ash Challenging the traditional view that

Challenging the traditional view that the British are natural 'sons of the waves'

Outreach and Diversity officer for the Royal Astronomical Society

In this dramatic landscape

Text at the top introduces Comets and Aerolites and two vignettes at the bottom show meteor showers witnessed in Europe in 1836 and at the Niagara Falls in 1833

identifiable by the red tabbard with white crosses over his gold embossed half armour

Planisphere Donatis Comet Frame:Black stained ash Challenging the traditional view thatDiagram of the comet of 1858, discovered by Donati, 2 June. In the 19th century there were a number of spectacular or anticipated comets visible to the naked eye that generated significant popular as well as specialist interest. This popular interest and the commercial opportunities it provided are illustrated by this diagram, which responded to the discovery of a new comet by Giovani Battista Donati on 2 June 1858. It made its nearest approach to