Historical Interpretations of Comets and Meteors

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Historical Interpretations of Comets and Meteors

• Claire E. Thomas

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Ptolemys Comet Criteria

• Shape
• Position
• Duration

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Karpos

• Presented 100 specific dictums on the
  implications of comets

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Medieval Thought

• Bede the Venerable of Yarrow (673-735)
• Albert Magnus (1193-1280)

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Native American Views

• When a star falls from the skyIt leaves a fiery
  trail. It does not die.Its shade goes back to
  its own place to shine again.The Indians
  sometimes find the small starswhere they have
  fallen in the grass.
• -Menomini of the Great Lakes

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Meteor Superstitions

• Swabians believed that a shooting star
  presaged a year of good fortune, but if one saw
  three in one night, then he was doomed to die.
• In Chile, one must pick up a stone when sees a
  meteor.
• In the Philippines, one must tie a knot in a
  handkerchief before the light is extinguished.
• Modern Hawaiian Japanese are reported to
  believe that if a meteor comes in your direction,
  you must open the collars of your kimono to admit
  the good luck.
• In Baltic countries and central Europe, people
  believed that everyone had a personal star which
  fell upon his or her death. This led some to say
  such things as 'rest in peace' or 'may God guide
  you to a good path' upon seeing a meteor.
• Among those who believed meteors signaled
  ill-omen, saying certain words could avert the
  bad luck--for example, 'amen,' 'God guide it,' or
  'go away, go away, all by yourself.'

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Worship

• The place of honor in Apollos temple at Delphi
  is held by a meteorite.
• The wall of the Kaba, an Islamic shrine at
  Mecca, is said to contain a meteoritic black
  stone.
• Native American graves have been found to contain
  meteorites in a worshipful fashion.

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Uses of Meteorites

• Beads
• Plaques
• Knives, daggers
• Amulets, mace heads
• Ax heads
• Buttons

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Resources

• Yeomans, Donald K. Comets A Chronological
  History of Observation, Science, Myth, and
  Folklore. C. 1991, Wiley Science Editions, John
  Wiley Sons, Inc. Toronto
• Burke, John G. Cosmic Debris Meteorites in
  History c. 1986, University of California Press.
  Los Angeles, California
• http//www.crystalinks.com/meteors2.html
• http//www.sacred-texts.com/nam/ca/tmmi/tmmi05.htm
  
• http//www.alaska.net/meteor/legend.htm