Souvenirs
Advertising ➔ Promotional Button, Halley's Comet Is Coming!
Identifier:
2011.3.2
Description:
A promotional button (badge or pin) that is black in color. In the center of the pin is a gray image of a comet. At the top and bottom of the pin the words "Halley's Comet is Coming!" are printed. On the left side of the pin the date April 20, 1910 is printed and on the right side the date February 9, 1986 is printed.;This collection of space-related buttons provides the Museum with concrete examples of souvenirs used to commemorate many of the space program's milestones of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. The collection was put together by the donor's husband who worked at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) during those years. These types of buttons would have been given out to members of JPL project teams, but some were also available to general public, demonstrating the wide appeal of the space program. There are observable differences in the buttons that were clearly designed for more of a mass market, versus those designed to be souvenirs for JPL project team members.;Halley's Comet is the best-known of the short-period comets, and is visible from Earth every 75 to 76 years. Halley's returns to the inner solar system have been observed and recorded by astronomers since at least 240 BC, and perhaps as early as 466 BC. Clear records of the comet's appearances were made by Chinese, Babylonian, and medieval European chroniclers, but were not recognized as reappearances of the same object at the time. The comet's periodicity was first determined in 1705 by English astronomer Edmond Halley, after whom it is now named. Halley's Comet last appeared in the inner Solar System in 1986 and will next appear in mid-2061.
Date:
1986
Materials:
Metal, Plastic
Current Location Status:
In Storage
Source:
Gift Of Pasadena, California Edward A. Batka Who Worked For 36 Years At Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halley%27s_Comet
Related Entities:
Batka, Margaret (donor)
Andrea Melvin (identified by)
