Editing Halley's Comet (section)

===Before 1066===
{{multiple image|header=Early descriptions of Halley's comet|perrow=2|total_width=350|image_gap=5
|image1=Chinese report of Halley's Comet apparition in 240 BC from the Shiji (史記).jpg
|image2=Babylonian tablet recording Halley's comet.jpg
|image3=Paris1337_Horayot_10a.png
|image4=Chronicle of Zuqnin (Vat.sir.162), fol.136v (comet excerpt).jpg
|image5=Annals of Ulster (Trinity College Dublin's MS 1282), year 912.jpg
|footer=From left to right, top to bottom:<br>'''1.''' Report of Halley's Comet by Chinese astronomers in 240{{nbsp}}BC (''[[Records of the Grand Historian|Shiji]]'');<br>'''2.''' Observation of Halley's Comet, recorded in [[Cuneiform script|cuneiform]] on a clay tablet between 22 and 28 September 164{{nbsp}}BC, [[Babylon]], Iraq;<br>'''3.''' Possible record of Halley's Comet's 66{{nbsp}}AD appearance in the [[Talmud]] (b. [[Horayot#Aggada|Horayot]] 10a);<br>'''4.''' The [[Zuqnin Chronicle]]'s mention of Halley's Comet in 760{{nbsp}}AD, with an illustration that includes the relative positions of [[Aries (constellation)|Aries]], [[Mars]] and [[Saturn]] in the sky;<br>'''5.''' The [[Annals of Ulster]]'s entry for the year 912{{nbsp}}AD, ending with ''Cometis apparuit'' ("a comet appeared").}}

Due to its intrinsic brightness, about one eighth of all comet sightings mentioned in historic records belong to Halley's Comet.<ref name="hughes1987"/> The first certain appearance of Halley's Comet in the historical record is a description from 240&nbsp;BC, in the Chinese chronicle ''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]'' or ''Shiji'', which describes a comet that appeared in the east and moved north.{{sfn|Kronk|1999|p=6}} The only surviving record of the 164&nbsp;BC apparition is found on two fragmentary Babylonian tablets, which were rediscovered in August 1984 in the collection of the [[British Museum]].<ref name="Stephenson1985"/><ref name="Walker1985"/>

The apparition of 87&nbsp;BC was recorded in Babylonian tablets which state that the comet was seen "day beyond day" for a month.<ref name="Stephenson1985"/> This appearance may be recalled in the representation of [[Tigranes the Great]], an [[Armenia]]n king who is depicted on coins with a crown that features, according to [[Vahe Gurzadyan]] and R. Vardanyan, "a star with a curved tail [that] may represent the passage of Halley's Comet in 87&nbsp;BC." Gurzadyan and Vardanyan argue that "Tigranes could have seen Halley's Comet when it passed closest to the Sun on August 6 in 87&nbsp;BC" as the comet would have been a "most recordable event"; for ancient Armenians it could have heralded the New Era of the brilliant King of Kings.<ref name="Gurzadyan2004"/>

The apparition of 12&nbsp;BC was recorded in the ''[[Book of Han]]'' by [[Chinese astronomy|Chinese astronomers]] of the [[Han dynasty]] who tracked it from August through October.<ref name="kronk"/> It passed within 0.16&nbsp;au of Earth.<ref name="greatcomets"/> According to the Roman historian [[Cassius Dio]], a comet appeared suspended over Rome for several days portending the death of [[Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa]] in that year.<ref name="Chambers"/> Halley's appearance in 12&nbsp;BC, only a few years distant from the conventionally assigned [[Chronology of Jesus#Year of birth|date of the birth of Jesus Christ]], has led some [[theologian]]s and astronomers to suggest that it might explain the biblical story of the [[Star of Bethlehem]]. There are other explanations for the phenomenon, such as [[planetary conjunction]]s, and there are also records of other comets that appeared closer to the date of Jesus's birth.<ref name="Humphreys1995"/>

If [[Joshua ben Hananiah|Yehoshua ben Hananiah]]'s reference to "a star which arises once in 70 years and misleads the sailors"<ref name="Horayot10a"/> refers to Halley's Comet, he can only have witnessed the 66&nbsp;AD appearance.<ref name="Ne'eman1983"/> Another possible report comes from Jewish historian [[Josephus]],<ref name="Jaroff1985"/> who wrote that in 66 AD "The signs ... were so evident, and did so plainly foretell their future desolation ... there was a star resembling a sword, which stood over the city, and a comet, that continued a whole year".{{Efn|[[William Whiston]]: "Whether Josephus means that this star was different from that comet which lasted a whole year, I cannot certainly determine. His words most favour their being different one from another."}}<ref name="Josephus"/> This portent was in reference to the city of Jerusalem and the [[First Jewish–Roman War]].<ref name="Horowitz1996"/>

The 141&nbsp;AD apparition was recorded in Chinese chronicles, with observations of a bluish white comet on 27 March and 16, 22 and 23 April.<ref name="Ravené1897"/> The early Tamil bards of southern India (c. 1st - 4th century CE) also describe a certain relatable event.<ref name=":02">{{cite book |last1=Aiyar |first1=K. G. Sesha |author-link1= |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.277483 |title=Chera Kings of the Sangam Period |publisher=Luzac and Co. |year=1937 |isbn= |location=London |pages=63–66 |chapter=Yanaik-kat-Sey Mantaran-Ceral |orig-year=}}</ref>

The 374&nbsp;AD and 607 approaches each came within 0.09&nbsp;[[astronomical unit|au]] of Earth.<ref name="greatcomets"/> The 451&nbsp;AD apparition was said to herald the defeat of [[Attila the Hun]] at the [[Battle of Chalons]].<ref name="Schultheis"/><ref name="Kronk2009"/>

The 684&nbsp;AD apparition was reported in Chinese records as the "broom star".<ref name="art"/>

The 760 AD apparition was recorded in the ''[[Zuqnin Chronicle]]'''s entry for ''iyyōr'' 1071 [[:en:Seleucid era|SE]] (May 760 [[:en:Anno Domini|AD]]), calling it a "white sign":<ref name="Neuhäuser2021"/>

{{blockquote|
text=The year [SE] one thousand seventy one (AD 759/760).
In the month of ''iyyōr'' (May) a white sign was seen in the sky,
before early twilight, in the north-east [quarter],
in the Zodiac [sign] which is called Aries, to the north from these three stars in it, which are very shining.
And it resembled in its shape a broom [...]
And the sign itself remained for fifteen nights, until dawn of the feast of [[Pentecost]].
|source=''Zuqnin Chronicle'', fol.136v; Neuhäuser et al. (trans.)
}}

In 837 AD, Halley's Comet may have passed as close as {{convert|0.03|AU|e6mi e6km|abbr=off}} from [[Earth]], by far its closest approach.<ref name="Horizons837AD"/><ref name="greatcomets"/> Its tail may have stretched 60&nbsp;[[degree (angle)|degrees]] across the sky. It was recorded by astronomers in China, Japan, Germany, the Byzantine Empire, and the Middle East;<ref name="kronk"/> Emperor [[Louis the Pious]] observed this appearance and devoted himself to prayer and penance, fearing that "by this token a change in the realm and the death of a prince are made known".<ref name="Cabaniss1961"/>

In 912 AD, Halley is recorded in the ''[[Annals of Ulster]]'', which states "A dark and rainy year. A comet appeared."<ref name="annals_of_ulster"/>