Science and superstition: Comets and the French public in the 18th century

Details Science and superstition: Comets and the French public in the 18th century Science and superstition: Comets and the French public in the 18th century

Jan 1986

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1986amjph..54...16s&link_type=abstract

American Journal of Physics, Volume 54, Issue 1, pp. 16-24 (1986).

Physics

History Of Science, Science And Society

Scientific paper

The confirmation in 1759 of Halley's prediction for the return of the comet of 1682 was a triumphant scientific event, helping to convince a broad public that comets, like other celestial bodies, were knowable natural objects. Nevertheless, the frightening possibility that an unknown comet could appear at any time led to a startling degree of panic on a later occasion, when a study by Lalande on the statistical probability of a collision between earth and a comet was construed by rumor as a prophecy of imminent destruction.

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