December 21, 2021
Comet Fever
Timothy Birdnow
Irrational fears are not new, and we've seen wild panic in the public in the past. Scientists have often been misquoted by the media and "following the science" has led to fear and panic.
Take the case of Halley's comet.
From the article:
I would add there were hucksters selling "comet pills" which ostensibly protected you from the ravages of comet dust. And people bought them, too.
Does Global Warming or the Covid pandemic look much different than this?
Irrational fears are not new, and we've seen wild panic in the public in the past. Scientists have often been misquoted by the media and "following the science" has led to fear and panic.
Take the case of Halley's comet.
From the article:
In 1910 Halley’s comet first became visible to the naked eye on April 15, remained so until July 5.
The fear of Halley’s comet stemmed from two facts. First, its closest approach in 1910 was 23 million kilometres from the Earth, just 60 times the distance to the Moon. The comet’s tail even crossed the Earth’s trajectory on the night of May 18-19. Second, a toxic gas, cyanogen, had just been detected in the tail of the comet Morehouse. In short, Halley’s comet was perceived by many as a huge ball of toxic gas approaching Earth at an astronomical speed of 190,000 km per hour.
Faced with mounting fear, French authorities asked Camille Flammarion, a trustworthy and popular astronomer, to speak to the public. Flammarion considered the possibility that life on Earth might be extinguished should there be a celestial collision with Halley’s comet. Should a sufficient quantity of hydrogen in the comet’s tail be combined with atmospheric oxygen, all animal life could suffocate in just a few moments.
Flammarion considers the event unlikely due to the scarcity of gas in comet tails – a fact that would be confirmed later – but he admits uncertainty.
Of course, Flammarion, as a respectable scientist, recounted all the known elements in his possession: the facts, arguments, and causes, all accompanied by probability. However, the press echoed the most extraordinary part of his words – the possible suffocation of all of humanity – and passed over its low probability and its supposedly hilarious effect. Thus "informedâ€, the general public became understandably terrified of the potentially lethal effects of the comet’s passage.
When the comet approached in February of that year, spectroscopic observations at the Yerkes observatory in the United States confirmed the presence of cyanogen in the tail. Scientists detailed what would happen if the Earth’s orbit and the tail’s orbit cross paths: the cyanogen will decompose in the upper atmosphere, eliminating any danger of suffocation. Yet their reassuring conclusions went largely unnoticed by the press and the general public.
Following the dissemination of the information of an imminent danger, the reactions were diverse. Some people began to sell all their worldly possessions to take advantage of the short time remaining. Others risked death by alcohol overdose rather than gas intoxication. Others in the United States caulked their windows in a fruitless attempt to prevent the poisonous gas from entering their homes. In France and Italy, others took refuge in churches, the doors of which remained open during that famous night in May 1910. Several tens of thousands of believers gathered to pray in St. Peter’s Square. A Hungarian preferred to commit suicide rather than risk being suffocated.
In this context, charlatans seized the opportunity to sell anti-comet pills, based on sugar and quinine, and even an anti-Halley’s comet elixir…
The fact is a comet tail is near vacuum. Just a few particles of dust and gas that phosphoresce when heated by the Sun. The fear of Halley’s comet stemmed from two facts. First, its closest approach in 1910 was 23 million kilometres from the Earth, just 60 times the distance to the Moon. The comet’s tail even crossed the Earth’s trajectory on the night of May 18-19. Second, a toxic gas, cyanogen, had just been detected in the tail of the comet Morehouse. In short, Halley’s comet was perceived by many as a huge ball of toxic gas approaching Earth at an astronomical speed of 190,000 km per hour.
Faced with mounting fear, French authorities asked Camille Flammarion, a trustworthy and popular astronomer, to speak to the public. Flammarion considered the possibility that life on Earth might be extinguished should there be a celestial collision with Halley’s comet. Should a sufficient quantity of hydrogen in the comet’s tail be combined with atmospheric oxygen, all animal life could suffocate in just a few moments.
Flammarion considers the event unlikely due to the scarcity of gas in comet tails – a fact that would be confirmed later – but he admits uncertainty.
Of course, Flammarion, as a respectable scientist, recounted all the known elements in his possession: the facts, arguments, and causes, all accompanied by probability. However, the press echoed the most extraordinary part of his words – the possible suffocation of all of humanity – and passed over its low probability and its supposedly hilarious effect. Thus "informedâ€, the general public became understandably terrified of the potentially lethal effects of the comet’s passage.
When the comet approached in February of that year, spectroscopic observations at the Yerkes observatory in the United States confirmed the presence of cyanogen in the tail. Scientists detailed what would happen if the Earth’s orbit and the tail’s orbit cross paths: the cyanogen will decompose in the upper atmosphere, eliminating any danger of suffocation. Yet their reassuring conclusions went largely unnoticed by the press and the general public.
Following the dissemination of the information of an imminent danger, the reactions were diverse. Some people began to sell all their worldly possessions to take advantage of the short time remaining. Others risked death by alcohol overdose rather than gas intoxication. Others in the United States caulked their windows in a fruitless attempt to prevent the poisonous gas from entering their homes. In France and Italy, others took refuge in churches, the doors of which remained open during that famous night in May 1910. Several tens of thousands of believers gathered to pray in St. Peter’s Square. A Hungarian preferred to commit suicide rather than risk being suffocated.
In this context, charlatans seized the opportunity to sell anti-comet pills, based on sugar and quinine, and even an anti-Halley’s comet elixir…
I would add there were hucksters selling "comet pills" which ostensibly protected you from the ravages of comet dust. And people bought them, too.
Does Global Warming or the Covid pandemic look much different than this?
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
10:53 AM
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1
Only in the sense that the comet came and went quickly, whereas we're never going to hear the end of either "climate change" or COVID. But yes, the reactions of the uninformed public have been virtually identical.
Maybe somebody needs to develop -- and market -- anti-climate change pills.
Maybe somebody needs to develop -- and market -- anti-climate change pills.
Posted by: Dana Mathewson at December 21, 2021 03:07 PM (l1227)
2
That's a good idea. One a day keeps the climate change away.
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at December 22, 2021 07:51 AM (aimp/)
3
I remember a story years ago -- out of Canada, I think -- of this farmer who had a boy working for him. The farmer bemoaned the fact that the boy was so dumb, and said he even tried giving him smart pills. The guy talking to the farmer said "I've never heard of them." Farmer said "It's my own invention. I started him out on one pill a day, then two, finally got him up to four, and one day the kid looked at me and said 'Say, these aren't pills, they're rabbit droppings.' I said 'See, boy, now you're getting smart.'"
Posted by: Dana Mathewson at December 22, 2021 12:04 PM (zjwe/)
4
LOL! That's pretty funny Dana.
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at December 23, 2021 08:15 AM (Ja5aj)
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