A Brief History of Halley’s Comet

On May 19, 1910, the passage of Earth through the tail of Halley's Comet causes a panic.

"People began watching the comet with a more scientific eye in the 16th and 17th centuries, but it was still causing anxiety as recently as 1910. As the comet neared the Earth that year, the New York Times wrote that a French astronomer named Camille Flammarion had warned that poisonous cyanogen gas in its tail might “impregnate the atmosphere and snuff out all life on the planet.” Other scientists dismissed the claim as nonsense, but the prediction still sparked a minor panic. Before the comet passed by without incident that spring, many people sealed up their homes to keep out the fumes, stocked up on gas masks, and went to churches to pray for salvation. The more gullible among them even bought “anti-comet pills” from street vendors."