Arthur Storer

Arthur Storer (1645–1687) was America's first colonial astronomer. He came to Calvert County, Maryland, from Lincolnshire, England. He was among the first observers to sight and record data about a magnificent comet that passed over Patuxent skies in 1682. Storer's work shows up in a number of Newton's writings. The comet became known as Storer's Comet, until Edmund Halley later predicted the comet's return; thereafter this celestial marvel was known as Halley's Comet. His observations of the great comet of 1680 are mentioned twice in Newton's Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica. A planetarium bearing Storer's name is located in Prince Frederick, Maryland.