For millennia, comets were believed to be harbingers of disaster and change. No one knew what they were. Their terror faded after Edmond Halley proved they were natural phenomena, following laws of physics. He predicted that a comet visible in 1682 would reappear in 1759. It was named Halley’s Comet when his prediction was realized.
“Comet Madness: How the 1910 Return of Halley’s Comet (Almost) Destroyed Civilization,” by Richard J. Goodrich, tells what happened during its 1910 return. It actually proved to be a study of the impact of the mainstream media, an intersection of science and superstition.
Scientists were excited by its return. Goodrich shows that no one completely understood what comets were as the 20th century opened. For astronomers, Halley’s Comet’s predictable return offered an unprecedented opportunity to explore comets’ mysteries….