<p>I have not read the complete scientific article, but I'm not prone to trust this. On that year the Chinese civilization were quite well established and annotating about comets, and I have not read about them annotating about a comet that approached so much to Earth.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-07-16T18:29:05.733Z
The Chinese might not have seen the impact if it was on the other side of the world, or over an ocean.   But I'm inclined to agree with you over all.    Is it possible the Earth was hit by a comet around 530 AD - sure.   Was it a piece of Halley's comet?   Er . . . I'm skeptical too.
userLTK
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-20T08:13:09.603Z
2013-12-20T08:13:09.603Z
Envite
<p>Little pieces of Halley's comet hit the Earth every spring. It's called the Eta Aquarid meteor shower, but I think you are thinking of something bigger.</p>

<p><a href="http://cosmicttusk.com/halleys-comet-abbott-at-agu-on-the-530s-event/" rel="noreferrer">Dallas Abbot's paper</a> notes that at the 533-540 point on the <a href="http://www.gisp2.sr.unh.edu/" rel="noreferrer">GISP2</a> ice core there are Sn-rich particles, Ni-rich particles and cosmic spherules. These she identifies as evidence of a minor cometary impact. The resolution of the GISP2 core is sufficient to place this impact in the late spring, consistent with the Eta Aquarid meteor shower, which is known to be produced by Halleys comet.</p>

<p>Dallas notes that an increase in cometary dust in the atmosphere could partly explain the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_weather_events_of_535%E2%80%93536" rel="noreferrer">extreme weather events of 535-536</a>, in combination with a minor volcanic eruption. Although there are other, competing hypotheses, and this is not considered to be settled science.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-09T17:46:48.243Z
That's awesome about the Eta Aquarid.    I had no idea.    Passing through the dust trail (meteor shower) means Halley's itself can (and has on occasion) come pretty close to Earth.    I didn't know that.   Fun article on the close pass in 1910.   https://www.theguardian.com/science/across-the-universe/2012/dec/20/apocalypse-postponed-halley-comet
userLTK
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-08T16:34:52.897Z
2017-07-08T16:34:52.897Z
James K
<p>A friend showed me an <a href="http://www.livescience.com/42048-halleys-comet-linked-to-ancient-famine.html">article</a> saying that there's evidence that a piece of Halley's comet may have struck the earth about 1,500 years ago. Is anyone here aware of such evidence?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-19T21:10:00.370Z
The talk at AGU was last Wednesday, guess we'll have to wait for the proceedings. Seems to be pretty new. http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/12/06/agu-2013-key-events-from-the-earth-institute/
Alexander Janssen
<comets><impact>
Did a piece of Halley's comet strike the Earth 1,500 years ago?
Mitchell Kaplan
# Did a piece of Halley's comet strike the Earth 1,500 years ago?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-12-19)

A friend showed me an [article](http://www.livescience.com/42048-halleys-comet-linked-to-ancient-famine.html) saying that there's evidence that a piece of Halley's comet may have struck the earth about 1,500 years ago. Is anyone here aware of such evidence?

**Tags:** comets, impact

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: The talk at AGU was last Wednesday, guess we'll have to wait for the proceedings. Seems to be pretty new. http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/12/06/agu-2013-key-events-from-the-earth-institute/  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2017-07-08. Score: 5 | Accepted answer

Little pieces of Halley's comet hit the Earth every spring. It's called the Eta Aquarid meteor shower, but I think you are thinking of something bigger.

[Dallas Abbot's paper](http://cosmicttusk.com/halleys-comet-abbott-at-agu-on-the-530s-event/) notes that at the 533-540 point on the [GISP2](http://www.gisp2.sr.unh.edu/) ice core there are Sn-rich particles, Ni-rich particles and cosmic spherules. These she identifies as evidence of a minor cometary impact. The resolution of the GISP2 core is sufficient to place this impact in the late spring, consistent with the Eta Aquarid meteor shower, which is known to be produced by Halleys comet.

Dallas notes that an increase in cometary dust in the atmosphere could partly explain the [extreme weather events of 535-536](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_weather_events_of_535%E2%80%93536), in combination with a minor volcanic eruption. Although there are other, competing hypotheses, and this is not considered to be settled science.

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: That's awesome about the Eta Aquarid.    I had no idea.    Passing through the dust trail (meteor shower) means Halley's itself can (and has on occasion) come pretty close to Earth.    I didn't know that.   Fun article on the close pass in 1910.   https://www.theguardian.com/science/across-the-universe/2012/dec/20/apocalypse-postponed-halley-comet  

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### Answer by username_2 on 2013-12-20. Score: 1

I have not read the complete scientific article, but I'm not prone to trust this. On that year the Chinese civilization were quite well established and annotating about comets, and I have not read about them annotating about a comet that approached so much to Earth.

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: The Chinese might not have seen the impact if it was on the other side of the world, or over an ocean.   But I'm inclined to agree with you over all.    Is it possible the Earth was hit by a comet around 530 AD - sure.   Was it a piece of Halley's comet?   Er . . . I'm skeptical too.  

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