Buzz
Comets are some of the most intriguing celestial bodies in the universe. Some are visible without a telescope, and due to their predictable trajectories, we can always catch a glimpse, as long as we know when and where to look (unless they mysteriously disappear). Yet, in ancient times, people lacked this knowledge. Comets were enigmatic, often seen as omens, most frequently of an ill-fated nature.
It’s not just the ancients who’ve tied comets to catastrophes. Throughout history, astronomers, scholars, and ordinary individuals have blamed comets for various calamities. While most of these associations are rooted more in superstition than truth, the comets remain silent on the matter.
10. The Demise of Mark Twain
Halley’s Comet stands out as one of the most iconic comets. It returns roughly every 75 years, with numerous historical accounts marking its appearances. However, ancient cultures didn’t realize they were witnessing the same comet until Edmund Halley deduced that the comets observed in 1531, 1607, and 1682 were actually one and the same. He predicted its return in 1758.
The comet made its return in 1758, though Halley had passed away by then. Despite this, the comet was named in his honor. It made another appearance in 1835, the same year that the renowned author Mark Twain was born. Twain passed away on April 21, 1910, coinciding with another appearance of Halley’s Comet.
Mark Twain foresaw his own death and connected it to the comet’s return. He famously stated:
I arrived with Halley’s comet in 1835. It’s due to return next year, and I fully expect to depart with it. It would be the greatest disappointment of my life if I didn’t leave alongside Halley’s comet. The Almighty must have said: “These two improbable anomalies arrived together, and they must depart together.”
9. The Assassination of Julius Caesar
In March 44 BC, a group of Roman senators assassinated Julius Caesar, fearing that he would crown himself as king. Four months later, a grand funerary festival known as Ludi Victoriae Caesaris was held in his memory. During the ceremonies, a brilliant comet appeared in the sky, visible for seven days before fading away. This comet is now known as the Great Comet of 44 BC. It is considered one of the brightest comets in history and was also documented in ancient China.
The Romans saw the appearance of the comet as no mere coincidence. They believed it represented the soul of Julius Caesar ascending to the heavens to become a god. Sadly, we may never witness the comet’s return. As it passed by, the Earth's gravity accelerated it, sending it beyond the boundaries of our solar system.
8. The Passing of Pope Urban IV
In 1264, another dazzling comet passed by the Earth. Known today as C/1264 N1 or the Great Comet of 1264, it was incredibly bright and remained visible for four months, beginning in July. By then, people had already developed superstitions surrounding comets, viewing them as omens of impending disaster.
In this case, the comet was linked to the death of Pope Urban IV, who is believed to have fallen ill shortly after the comet was observed in July. He passed away in October 1264, on the final day that the comet was still visible.
7. The Battle of Hastings
On October 14, 1066, the army of King Harold II of England clashed with the Norman forces led by William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings. The battle proved decisive, resulting in King Harold's death and William's ascension to the English throne, marking the beginning of Norman rule in England.
Halley’s Comet, which was visible in April of that year, became associated with the battle. At that time, people had yet to realize that the comet was a periodic visitor, returning every three-quarters of a century. In that year, Halley’s Comet was so bright that it appeared four times the size of Venus and approximately 25 percent as bright as the Moon.
Astrologers in England speculated that the comet had some connection to the impending battle with the Normans. However, they were unsure whether it was an omen of good or bad things to come. They discovered it was indeed a bad omen when King Harold was killed.
What spelled disaster for King Harold turned out to be a favorable sign for William the Conqueror, who had also observed the comet in France while journeying to England for the battle. He proclaimed it “a wonderful sign from heaven” and suggested it was proof that he would emerge victorious. Indeed, he was correct.
6. The Great Earthquakes of 1811
On October 20, 1811, both Europeans and Americans watched in awe as a brilliant comet made its closest approach to Earth. This was the Great Comet of 1811. The comet had actually appeared in March, catching everyone off guard as no one had been expecting it. Some Americans became anxious and speculated that it was an omen of an impending disaster.
That disaster arrived on December 16, when a powerful earthquake struck the Midwest and Southern United States. The earthquake was so severe that it caused the Mississippi River to briefly flow backwards. Americans quickly connected the comet to the quake and blamed it once again when the United States and England went to war the following year.
Americans weren’t alone in attributing the comet to some disastrous event. Napoleon Bonaparte also saw the comet in Europe and regarded it as a good omen, believing it signified his imminent victory in his planned invasion of Russia. However, Napoleon later recognized the comet as a bad omen after his disastrous defeat at the hands of the Russians.
The comet did bring fortune to some parts of Europe, though. Vineyard owners enjoyed a bountiful harvest, which they attributed to the comet's passage. The wines produced from the grapes harvested that year were even named Comet Wine.
5. The Great Biblical Flood
A brilliant comet passed by Earth in 1680, now famously known as the Great Comet of 1680. The comet sparked the curiosity of many scientists, including Sir Isaac Newton, who used its passage to confirm a gravity theory he had proposed. Edmund Halley also studied the comet and used it to calculate the orbits of two dozen other comets.
Mathematician William Whiston later examined the Great Comet of 1680 and suggested that it had passed by Earth in earlier times, thousands of years ago. He claimed that during one of these past flybys, the comet came so close to Earth that water from its tail fell onto the surface. Whiston also argued that the comet's gravitational pull caused water to be released from the Earth's crust.
Whiston proposed that the enormous rainfall from the comet's tail and the substantial amounts of water that emerged from beneath the Earth's surface led to the massive flood described in the Bible, the very flood that Noah famously escaped in his ark.
Historians suggest that Whiston put forward this theory in an effort to reconcile science with religion, a common practice among scientists of that era who sought to explain miraculous events and other religious phenomena using scientific reasoning.
4. 536
In the year AD 536, the Earth experienced an unexpected cold snap. Contemporary scholars recorded that the Sun appeared dim and shrouded, almost as if an eclipse had occurred. Without the usual warmth from the Sun, temperatures plummeted, and it became so cold that frost covered the ground even in the middle of summer.
The resulting crop failures led to widespread famine, mass migration, disease, and plague. This chilling period lasted for a decade until the Earth began to warm again. One of the most devastating events during this time was the Justinian Plague of 541–542, which decimated a significant portion of the population in the Byzantine Empire.
Astronomers remain uncertain about the exact cause of this sudden cooling. However, they suspect it may have been triggered by a massive volcanic eruption in El Salvador.
Dallas Abbott, a geologist from Columbia University in New York, has suggested that Halley’s Comet may have been responsible for the sudden temperature drop. According to Abbott, the comet lost sizable fragments as it passed through the inner solar system in 530, and these fragments eventually collided with Earth, contributing to the cooling event.
Abbott came to this conclusion after examining ice cores in Greenland, which date back to 536, the same year the Earth experienced a dramatic temperature plunge. The ice cores contained nickel and tin, elements Abbott believes came from the comet, along with microorganisms from tropical areas that he speculates were ejected high into the atmosphere by an impact.
While Abbott's hypothesis remains unproven, astronomers are aware that Halley’s Comet sheds debris when it enters the inner solar system. It’s possible that in 530, the comet shed an unusual amount of fragments, which Earth later encountered throughout the 530s.
3. Younger Dryas
Around 17,500 years ago, the last Ice Age came to an end, and the Earth began to warm. However, about 13,000 years ago, the planet unexpectedly entered another cooling phase. This sharp drop in temperature lasted until roughly 11,500 years ago, when the warming trend resumed.
Historians refer to this period of intense cold as the Younger Dryas. While the exact cause remains unknown, one leading theory suggests that a comet could have been responsible. Some historians believe that the Younger Dryas began when a comet struck the Earth.
The impact supposedly triggered widespread wildfires. These fires released enormous amounts of soot into the atmosphere, which then blocked the Sun's heat. This blockage is believed to have contributed to the cooling event known as the Younger Dryas. However, this is merely a hypothesis, as concrete evidence for the impact is lacking.
Proponents of this theory point to platinum found in Greenland's ice cores and other evidence from Pennsylvania as possible indicators of the comet's impact. Additionally, a carving found on a pillar at Gobekli Tepe in Turkey is sometimes interpreted as an ancient depiction of a comet breaking apart in the atmosphere before crashing to Earth.
2. The Great Chicago Fire
The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 remains one of the greatest enigmas of the 19th century. From October 8 to October 10, the fire ravaged Chicago, destroying a third of its homes. While Mrs. O’Leary and her cow were blamed for sparking the inferno, no solid evidence exists to prove their involvement.
Over the years, alternative theories have emerged, including one involving a comet. In 1883, Ignatius Donnelly suggested that gases from a comet's tail fell to Earth, igniting the fire. His theory was later supported by Mel Waskin in his 1985 book Mrs. O’Leary’s Comet. Both Donnelly and Waskin, along with others who pointed to a comet, based their claims on accounts from people who claimed to have seen fire falling from the sky when the Great Chicago Fire began.
Such theories may hold weight, especially since Chicago wasn’t the only area affected by fires in October of that year. Fires also broke out along Lake Michigan and in Peshtigo, Wisconsin, on the same day. The Peshtigo fire, although overshadowed by the Chicago fire, remains the deadliest wildfire in U.S. history.
1. The Spanish Conquest Of The Inca Empire
The Inca Empire, once the largest in pre-Columbian America, boasted millions of people and a vast expanse of land. It eventually fell to the Spanish, who overthrew its emperor. Huayna Capac, the Incan ruler at the time, had foreseen the downfall of his empire due to several ominous signs he had witnessed before the Spaniards arrived. Among them were the appearance of a large green comet and the destruction of his home by lightning.
There was a prophecy foretelling that the Incas would be defeated by strangers, unlike any people the Incas had ever encountered before. However, the Spaniards did not launch their attack while Huayna Capac was still the emperor. Instead, they left and returned only after Huayna Capac had succumbed to smallpox, which had been introduced by the Spanish themselves.
