{"id":38662,"date":"2022-11-11T09:37:48","date_gmt":"2022-11-11T09:37:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/?p=113523"},"modified":"2022-11-11T09:46:13","modified_gmt":"2022-11-11T09:46:13","slug":"anti-comet-umbrellas-and-other-strange-halleys-comet-inventions","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/anti-comet-umbrellas-and-other-strange-halleys-comet-inventions\/","title":{"rendered":"Anti-comet umbrellas and other strange Halley\u2019s Comet inventions"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Jon Powell\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Friday, 11 November 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

They say \u2018where there\u2019s a crowd there\u2019s business\u2019.<\/p>\n

With a huge potential global audience online, the next time inspiration for an innovation flashes like a shooting star, no matter how unlikely-sounding it may be, you may find customers surprisingly easy to find \u2013 especially if your money-spinning idea has links to space.<\/p>\n

You\u2019d be following in a long line of entrepreneurs past, such as when Halley\u2019s Comet flew by Earth in 1910.<\/p>\n

For more like this, find out about spaceflight\u2019s biggest mishaps<\/a> or the strange spaceflight inventions<\/a> that never took off.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Halley\u2019s Comet over Uluru, outback Australia, 1986. Photo by Impressions Photography\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The event caught the attention of opportunists who saw the potential to profit from the unknowns surrounding the comet\u2019s appearance.<\/p>\n

This was nicely fuelled by French astronomer and popular science author Camille Flammarion, who paved the way by stating that Earth would pass through the comet<\/a>\u2019s tail, and that there was a chance that \u201ccyanogen gas would impregnate the atmosphere and possibly snuff out all life on the planet\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
French astronomer Camille Flammarion. Photo by The Print Collector\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Just think about that as Earth passes through the dust left by Halley\u2019s Comet in its orbit, next time you\u2019re watching the Orionid meteor shower<\/a>!<\/p>\n

While a San Francisco newspaper did remind readers that \u201cmost astronomers do not agree with Flammarion,\u201d it made little impact on the uncertainty that was left in people\u2019s minds \u2013 and more importantly to the merchandise that was to be peddled to save us all from oblivion.<\/p>\n

Salvation came in the form of anti-comet pills, one such medication promising \u201can elixir for escaping the wrath of the heavens\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Or there was the gas mask that was sold to evade the fumes, although it wasn\u2019t specified how long to use it for, which could itself have had long-term drawbacks.<\/span><\/p>\n

As the comet approached, those householders who had not been drawn into the craze stuffed paper around their doorframes in an effort to keep the toxic gas out.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

But of all the craziness that ensued to defend oneself against the incoming comet, anti-comet umbrellas were surely the best (an idea taken to a different level decades later, with a meteorite-deflecting helmet).<\/p>\n

You can imagine how an umbrella could easily deal with all that a massive comet could throw at Earth and its residents.<\/p>\n

Halley\u2019s Comet duly passed by, leaving Earth unscathed, returning again \u2013 but with less hysteria attached \u2013 in 1986.<\/p>\n

Surely today things have moved on, with a more knowledgeable and discerning potential buyer in the marketplace? Perhaps not!<\/p>\n

\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Would you like to own land on the Moon? Credit: Home Grown Graphics \/ Getty<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Would you like to buy a nice piece of land on the Moon?<\/p>\n

A quick Google and it\u2019s yours, courtesy of a \u2018lunar real estate agent\u2019.<\/p>\n

Excellent views, especially for stargazing, but a bit sparse on local amenities when you want to buy a pint of milk.<\/p>\n

This too is just an opportunistic fancy: according to a 1967 agreement, known as the Outer Space Treaty<\/a>, you cannot buy land on the Moon, so that idea will have to wait.<\/p>\n

There are many legitimate products that take their names from astronomical bodies, but any that claim to give you X-ray vision, or the ability to read people\u2019s minds (I knew you\u2019d say that), do add a pinch of salt!<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared in the October 2022 issue of <\/strong><\/em>BBC Sky at Night Magazine<\/strong>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/body><\/html>\n

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