WeRead Powered by ReaderPub
Comet Lore: Halley's Comet in History and Astronomy cover

Comet Lore: Halley's Comet in History and Astronomy

Chapter 2: ILLUSTRATIONS
By Edwin Emerson
Open in WeRead

Explore more books like this:

History - OtherScience - Physics

About This Book

The book surveys centuries of observations and cultural responses to a periodic comet, compiling historical records, artistic depictions, and religious interpretations that link comet appearances with omens, disasters, and social panic. It recounts notable past comets and retells the life and role of the astronomer who recognized the object's periodic return, then shifts to scientific explanations of comet structure and orbit, contemporary photographs and illustrations, and assessments of collision risk and apocalyptic speculation. Chapters combine narrative history, scientific overview, and folklore to show how astronomical knowledge and popular fear have shaped responses to recurring celestial visitors.

ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE
Cover Designs by William Stevens  
Halley’s Comet of 1910 Frontispiece
The Terror of the Comet in Antiquity 13
The Terror of the Comet in Mediæval Times 20
The Terror of the Comet at the Present Day 25
The Latest Photograph of the Comet of 1910 28
Napoleon’s Comet of 1811 53
The Great Comet of 1843 56
Comet of Tel-el-Kebir, 1882 59
Halley’s Comet of 1835 62
Halley’s Comet of 1682 69
Halley’s Comet of 1066 in the Bayeux Tapestry 78
William the Conqueror, an English Dream 81
Portrait of Edmund Halley 92
The Orbit of Halley’s Comet 103
Relative Sizes of the Earth, the Moon and Halley’s Comet 103
Donati’s Comet of 1858 106
The Civil War Comet of 1863 109
Coggia’s Comet of 1874 112
Halley’s Conception of a Collision with the Comet 119

TO THE COMET

“Thereby Hangs a Tail.”—Shakespeare.
Lone wanderer of the trackless sky!
Companionless! Say, dost thou fly
Along thy solitary path,
A flaming messenger of wrath—
Warning with thy portentous train
Of earthquake, plague and battle-plain?
Some say that thou dost never fail
To bring some evil in thy tail.
W. Lattey.