Comet Madness: How the 1910 Return of Halley’s Comet (Almost) Destroyed Civilization

The news that Halley’s Comet would return in May 1910 after a 75-year absence set off a wave of “comet hysteria,” according to this intriguing account. Historian Goodrich (Contextualizing Cassian) delves into the mythical beliefs surrounding Halley’s comet, including that it portended the death of England’s King Harold II in the Battle of Hastings in 1066, before explaining that astronomer Edward Halley drew on Isaac Newton’s theories of “how gravity shaped the orbits of celestial bodies” to determine that it passes between the Earth and the sun roughly every 76 years and predict its return in 1758. By the early 20th century, Goodrich notes, astronomy had advanced so far that scientists could predict the comet’s return down to the day. Despite reminders by Camille Flammarion and other astronomers that Halley’s comet “had slipped past the earth many times without harming the planet,” however, the American press, knowing that “fear and panic sell more papers than settled tranquility,” cherry-picked quotations and spread “wild rumors” about the comet’s dangers, leading to suicides and the panicked building of underground shelters. Though the early chapters are somewhat slow going, Goodrich vividly shows how little it took “to drive some Americans back to the fears and superstitions of a prescientific world.” This slice of history fascinates. (Feb.)