cometearth.jpg (275716 bytes) Even in the eighteenth century when people "knew better" the superstitions about comets persisted. This picture is the frontispiece to the book with title page below. In fact, however, the contents of the book are relatively scientific for the time - the sensational picture and title page are for the sake of sales!

(from the Crawford Collection, Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, photo by G. Rieke)

cometendearth.jpg (103397 bytes)