Comets universally foretold disasters and misfortune until the start of the scientific revolution. For example, public fears linked the Great Comet of 1556, shown in a woodcut from a German pamphlet, with earthquakes in that same year. Another century and

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Comets universally foretold disasters and misfortune until the start of the scientific revolution. For example, public fears linked the Great Comet of 1556, shown in a woodcut from a German pamphlet, with earthquakes in that same year. Another century and more would pass before the growth of mathematical astronomy could seriously challenge credulous views of comets.

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Keywords: 1500s, 1556, art, artwork, astronomical, astronomy, bad, colorized, comet, comets, depiction, drawing, enhancement, great, historical, history, illustration, omen, omens, science, woodcut