= Edmond Halley
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<Edmond Halley> connected separate historical appearances of a <comet> by comparing their calculated <orbits>. In his 1705 synopsis he argued that the appearances of 1531, 1607 and 1682 belonged to the same returning body.
The important step was a testable prediction: the <comet> should return, with its timing affected by gravitational perturbations from the <planets>. Its later return in 1758 supported the interpretation. The achievement applied orbital <dynamics> to historical observations rather than treating each bright apparition as an unrelated event.<A Synopsis of Cometary Astronomy by Edmond Halley>[1705 synopsis: comparison of historical orbital elements and predicted return; first-edition specimen account]{ref}
\Image[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:Redirect/file/Edmond%20Halley%20LCCN2002708778.jpg?width=260]
{title=Portrait of <Edmond Halley>}
{description=Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Miscellaneous Items in High Demand, LCCN2002708778. Public domain (life+100/pre-1931 U.S. publication). Source and usage information on the linked Wikimedia file page.}
{source=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Edmond_Halley_LCCN2002708778.jpg}
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