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C/1857 V1 (Donati–van Arsdale)

comet

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJan 3, 2025
Entity authorityQ3648268 ↗
Source-derived summary

Comet Donati–van Arsdale, formally designated as C/1857 V1, is a parabolic comet co-discovered by Giovanni Battista Donati and Robert van Arsdale a few hours apart on 10 November 1857. It was calculated to have a retrograde trajectory around the Sun.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “C/1857 V1 (Donati–van Arsdale)” as comet. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Donati, Arsdale and comet.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1857—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Donati, Arsdale and comet providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “C/1857 V1 (Donati–van Arsdale)”, the useful work is to connect “comet” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 3, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q3648268. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1857.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “C/1857 V1 (Donati–van Arsdale)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow C/1857 V1 (Donati–van Arsdale) primary sources, C/1857 V1 (Donati–van Arsdale) archive and Donati research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “C/1857 V1 (Donati–van Arsdale)”?
  2. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
  3. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “C/1857 V1 (Donati–van Arsdale)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.