On an October Sunday evening in 1871, flames erupted across three states—Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan—all at once. Chicago burns. Peshtigo, Wisconsin vanishes. Forests in Michigan turn to ash.
Eyewitnesses saw flames—and weirdness. Fire falling from the sky. A tornado of flame ripping buildings apart. Balls of fire dropping like bombs. Red dust raining down. Explosions of wind with thunderclaps. Buildings bursting into flame with no fire nearby.
Comet Biela was first spotted in 1772 and seemed to be predictable. Then in 1866 it vanishes. There is evidence that Biela split, disintegrated, and apparently left a trail of cosmic junk which plowed thru Earth on October 8, 1871. Debris hit the atmosphere—fireballs, electric discharges, chaos.
Author and EU advocate Matt Finn explains why comets aren’t dirty snowballs; they’re charged, dynamic, and dangerous.
