Why did some people panic in 1910?

Earth would pass through the comet's tail

Halley's Comet History Quiz: Bayeux, Giotto and the 1910 Panic

This Halley's Comet history quiz looks back at the famous visitor that returns about every 76 years. Play 10 interactive questions on Edmond Halley's prediction of its 1758 return, ancient Chinese records, the comet stitched into the Bayeux Tapestry before 1066, Giotto's painting, the probe named after him, the 1910 comet pill panic, Mark Twain and the next return in 2061.

Start Halley's Comet History Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Period
About how often does Halley's Comet return?
Halley
What did Edmond Halley predict?
China
Which civilization kept very early records of the comet?
Tapestry
Which famous artwork shows Halley's Comet in 1066?
Giotto
How did painter Giotto depict the comet?
Probe
Which spacecraft flew close to Halley in 1986?
Panic
Why did some people panic in 1910?
Pills
What did hucksters sell in 1910?
Twain
Which writer was born and died in Halley years?
Next
When is Halley's Comet next expected to return?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: About how often does Halley's Comet return?
Answer: About every 76 years
Its period varies slightly.
Q2: What did Edmond Halley predict?
Answer: The comet's return in 1758
He died before it came back.
Q3: Which civilization kept very early records of the comet?
Answer: Ancient China
Records go back over 2,000 years.
Q4: Which famous artwork shows Halley's Comet in 1066?
Answer: The Bayeux Tapestry
It appears before the Norman Conquest.
Q5: How did painter Giotto depict the comet?
Answer: As the Star of Bethlehem
He saw it in 1301.
Q6: Which spacecraft flew close to Halley in 1986?
Answer: Giotto
It was named after the painter.
Q7: Why did some people panic in 1910?
Answer: Earth would pass through the comet's tail
Gas in the tail worried them.
Q8: What did hucksters sell in 1910?
Answer: Comet pills
They claimed protection from the tail.
Q9: Which writer was born and died in Halley years?
Answer: Mark Twain
He predicted he would go out with it.
Q10: When is Halley's Comet next expected to return?
Answer: 2061
It will be better placed than in 1986.

A Comet Woven Into History

Halley's Comet returns about every 76 years. Ancient Chinese astronomers recorded it more than 2,000 years ago. Edmond Halley realized that comets seen in 1531, 1607 and 1682 were the same object and predicted its return in 1758. He died before it came back, but its return proved him right, and it was named after him.

The comet appears in the Bayeux Tapestry, seen in 1066 before the Norman Conquest of England. After seeing it in 1301, Italian painter Giotto depicted it as the Star of Bethlehem. In 1986, ESA's Giotto probe, named after him, flew close to the comet's nucleus.

In 1910 Earth passed through the comet's tail, and fears about gas in the tail led hucksters to sell comet pills. Mark Twain, born in a Halley year, died in 1910 as it returned. The comet is next expected in 2061.

What This Quiz Teaches

Space and history fans will enjoy these questions.

How often it returns
Who predicted it
Where it appears in art
What happened in 1910
When it returns next

Did You Know?

Its nucleus is dark like coal.
The Eta Aquariids come from its dust.
The Orionids also come from it.
It orbits backward relative to planets.
The 1986 view was poor from Earth.