History of Geo- and Space Sciences
History of Geo- and Space Sciences
History of Geo- and Space Sciences
Articles | Volume 12, issue 1
Articles | Volume 12, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/hgss-12-111-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/hgss-12-111-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Articles | Volume 12, issue 1
09 Jun 2021
 | 09 Jun 2021

The Great Comet of 1577: a Palestinian observation

Sam M. Silverman and Eran Limor

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Short summary
In this text we examine the historical and cultural context of the Great Comet of 1577 from the perspective of Chaim Vital, who recorded his observation of the comet on the evening of 10 November 1577. This observation includes a description of a possible aurora, by noting the presence of a chasm in the sky. This kind of description is common in Western medieval accounts. In his Book of Visions, Vital only noted the event without interpretation, likely due to comets being considered ill omens.
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