Greeks first spotted Halley's comet over 2 centuries ago.

India, Sept. 11 -- A celestial sighting recorded by the ancient Greeks is likely to have been Halley's Comet, new research suggests.

If correct, it pushes the first recorded sighting of Halley's Comet back more than two centuries.

Philosopher Daniel Graham and astronomer Eric Hintz of Brigham Young University in Utah studied descriptions of the comet, and compared it to computer modelling of the path Halley's Comet would have taken on its pass by Earth in 468-466 BC.

They found that at the time the Greeks said the comet was visible, Halley's Comet would have been in the Western sky.

Earth would also have been caught up in the comet's tail - like …