<p>Earth passed through the tail of Halley's Comet in 1910. It caused a bit of a panic due to claims that <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanogen" rel="noreferrer">cyanogen</a> detected in the tail would cause harm: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halley%27s_Comet#1910" rel="noreferrer">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halley%27s_Comet#1910</a></p>
<p>Linked there is <a href="https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1910/02/08/104920328.pdf" rel="noreferrer">https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1910/02/08/104920328.pdf</a></p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/uDCzO.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/uDCzOl.png" alt="Comet's poisonous tail https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1910/02/08/104920328.pdf" /></a> (click for larger)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-11-07T16:37:10.947Z
H G Wells wrote "In the Days of the Comet" in 1906, in which the earth passes through the tail of a comet. I don't know if astronomers of the time had predicted the Halley event 4 years early: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Days_of_the_Comet
Wayfaring Stranger
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-11-07T17:07:14.333Z
@WayfaringStranger that's really amazing!! I'd never heard that, but it certainly piques one's interest.
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-11-08T01:01:13.843Z
@WayfaringStranger Astronomers of that time certainly knew when to expect Halley's Comet. After all, this was its third appearance after Edmond Halley's famous prediction. It seems reasonable to think that Wells & much of the general public would have also known it was coming.
D. Halsey
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-11-08T03:11:39.877Z
The comet sure. I wonder if they were accurate to predict the tail intersecting earth 4 years later.
Wayfaring Stranger
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-11-08T03:56:03.093Z
@WayfaringStranger [What were they expecting to see when Halley's comet appeared in 1910?](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/q/39722/7982)
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-11-08T04:05:32.087Z
and [What comet's tail did Earth pass through before Halley's?](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/q/39723/7982)
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-11-08T16:28:20.577Z
@WayfaringStranger My source of information (The Return of Halley's Comet by Patrick Moore & John Mason) has a chapter about 1910 that mentions the good agreement between the comet coordinates predicted in 1907 & where it was actually found (yes, the comet itself). It goes on to say that the corrected ephemeris (using measured coordinates in 1910) predicted that the Earth would pass through the tail. So, evidently, that had not been predicted earlier.
D. Halsey
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-11-16T00:20:15.663Z
@D.Halsey does your source mention exactly who published the "corrected ephemeris" and/or when and where it was published? I'd really like to track this down. If you have something can it be posted as an answer to the "What were they expecting to see..." question linked two comments above, or would it need a new question?
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-11-16T01:17:22.900Z
@uhoh The original ephemeris was calculated by P.H. Cowell & A.C.D. Crommelin of the Royal Greenwich Observatory, and it won the Lindemann prize, offered by the Astronomische Gesellschaft, for the most successful prediction. After obtaining data from Lick, Yerkes & other observatories, Crommelin computed the corrected ephemeris. The book I referenced gives a lot more details that you probably would like to read. If you can't access the book, I don't mind scanning portions of it & uploading it to a site where you can get it (or sending via email)..
D. Halsey
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-11-16T01:26:07.047Z
@D.Halsey Oh this gets more interesting by the minute! Thanks for all of this, I'll look for a local copy first, I may want to browse the entire book. :-)
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-11-07T03:33:13.537Z
2020-11-07T03:40:18.437Z
2020-11-07T03:40:18.437Z
Christopher James Huff
<p>Discussion below the Space SE question <a href="https://space.stackexchange.com/q/48368/12102">How hard is it to fly through the tail of a comet? Has it been done?</a> has led me to ask if there is any record of the Earth passing through the tail of a comet.</p>
<p>That's <em>tail</em> not trail. The annual meteor showers we talk about, even the unicorns are the Earth passing through the trail of breadcrumbs distributed long ago. This question is about the tail(s) of comets, those things we see in photos and sometimes by eye.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-11-07T07:44:38.310Z
Not Earth, but Rosetta has been flying through it for years.
planetmaker
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-11-08T04:06:56.493Z
companion question: [What comet's tail did Earth pass through before Halley's?](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/q/39723/7982)
uhoh
<history><comets><meteor><meteor-shower>
Any record of the Earth passing through the tail (not trail) of a comet?
uhoh
# Any record of the Earth passing through the tail (not trail) of a comet?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-11-07)

Discussion below the Space SE question [How hard is it to fly through the tail of a comet? Has it been done?](https://space.stackexchange.com/q/48368/12102) has led me to ask if there is any record of the Earth passing through the tail of a comet.

That's *tail* not trail. The annual meteor showers we talk about, even the unicorns are the Earth passing through the trail of breadcrumbs distributed long ago. This question is about the tail(s) of comets, those things we see in photos and sometimes by eye.

**Tags:** history, comets, meteor, meteor-shower

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Not Earth, but Rosetta has been flying through it for years.  
> **username_0**: companion question: [What comet's tail did Earth pass through before Halley's?](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/q/39723/7982)  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2020-11-07. Score: 7 | Accepted answer

Earth passed through the tail of Halley's Comet in 1910. It caused a bit of a panic due to claims that [cyanogen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanogen) detected in the tail would cause harm: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halley%27s_Comet#1910>

Linked there is <https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1910/02/08/104920328.pdf>

[![Comet's poisonous tail https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1910/02/08/104920328.pdf](https://i.sstatic.net/uDCzOl.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/uDCzO.png) (click for larger)

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: H G Wells wrote "In the Days of the Comet" in 1906, in which the earth passes through the tail of a comet. I don't know if astronomers of the time had predicted the Halley event 4 years early: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Days_of_the_Comet  
> **username_0**: @WayfaringStranger that's really amazing!! I'd never heard that, but it certainly piques one's interest.  
> **username_4**: @WayfaringStranger Astronomers of that time certainly knew when to expect Halley's Comet. After all, this was its third appearance after Edmond Halley's famous prediction. It seems reasonable to think that Wells & much of the general public would have also known it was coming.  
> **username_3**: The comet sure. I wonder if they were accurate to predict the tail intersecting earth 4 years later.  
> **username_0**: @WayfaringStranger [What were they expecting to see when Halley's comet appeared in 1910?](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/q/39722/7982)  
> **username_0**: and [What comet's tail did Earth pass through before Halley's?](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/q/39723/7982)  
> **username_4**: @WayfaringStranger My source of information (The Return of Halley's Comet by Patrick Moore & John Mason) has a chapter about 1910 that mentions the good agreement between the comet coordinates predicted in 1907 & where it was actually found (yes, the comet itself). It goes on to say that the corrected ephemeris (using measured coordinates in 1910) predicted that the Earth would pass through the tail. So, evidently, that had not been predicted earlier.  
> **username_0**: @D.Halsey does your source mention exactly who published the "corrected ephemeris" and/or when and where it was published? I'd really like to track this down. If you have something can it be posted as an answer to the "What were they expecting to see..." question linked two comments above, or would it need a new question?  
> **username_4**: @username_0 The original ephemeris was calculated by P.H. Cowell & A.C.D. Crommelin of the Royal Greenwich Observatory, and it won the Lindemann prize, offered by the Astronomische Gesellschaft, for the most successful prediction. After obtaining data from Lick, Yerkes & other observatories, Crommelin computed the corrected ephemeris. The book I referenced gives a lot more details that you probably would like to read. If you can't access the book, I don't mind scanning portions of it & uploading it to a site where you can get it (or sending via email)..  
> **username_0**: @D.Halsey Oh this gets more interesting by the minute! Thanks for all of this, I'll look for a local copy first, I may want to browse the entire book. :-)  

---

