The recent comet that past by our planet has inspired me to share some of the astronomical events of the nineteenth century and their relation to the Baha'i Faith. Throughout history there have always been signs in the heavens associated with the coming of a new messenger from God. Scripture confirms this, telling of the star which warned Nimrod of Abraham's coming, the star which the soothsayers pointed out to Pharaoh concerning Moses, the star of Bethlehem which made Herod fear Christ. These same stories have been told of Zoroaster, Buddha and Krishna. In the period from 1830 to 1860 there was an enormous upsurge in religious search and pursuit of the return of Christ. It is interesting to parallel this religious fervour with cosmic events such as the star fall of 1833, Biela's comet, the parhelic circles around the sun (1843) or the binary star discovery.
In Christianity, many leaders were predicting the return of Christ in the 1840s. Joseph Wolf, in Palestine, predicted 1847. Edward Irving in England, Mason in Scotland, Leonard H. Kelber in Germany and many others preached about the coming. Andrew Jackson Davis gave 157 lectures in 1845 about the new era, of which Edgar Allen Poe attended regularly. William Miller of the Seventh-Day Adventists started in 1831 telling the people that Christ was coming and predicted 1844 as the date. Mourant Brock, of the Church of England, said that this fervour was not only in England and America but in the continent of Europe and extending to India. More on this subject can be found in The Story of Prophecy by Henry James Forman and Our Day in the Light of Prophecy by W. A. Spicer.
The star fall of 1833 was a remarkable night on November 12, 1833 where much of the earth witnessed an incredible amount of falling stars. The American Journal of Science said they fell like snowflakes. Professor Olmstead, a mathematician at Yale University estimated 34,640 shooting stars per hour. The New York Journal of Commerce wrote that no philosopher or scholar has ever recorded an event like this. November 12 happens to be the birthday of Baha'u'llah, the prophet-founder of the Baha'i faith.
In period of 1843 and 1844, there appeared strange circles around the sun on three separate occasions. To this day nobody has a scientific answer for this happening.
In 1843, one year before the beginning of the Baha'i era, there appeared one of the greatest comets of history. It had a tail 108 million miles long and was so bright it could be seen in daylight. The American Journal of Science and The New York Tribune devoted special sections to this comet.
The Baha'i Faith has two prophets: one named the Bab (The Gate) and the other Baha'u'llah (The Glory of God), who immediately followed the Bab. The Double Star Theory, formulated by astronomers Hershal, Struve and Bessal, has some amazing coincidences with the events surrounding the lives of the two prophets of the Baha'i faith. In 1845, another great comet appeared, called Biela's comet. At first it seemed ordinary but later it appeared to split in two. It put forth no tail while this alteration was going on. This comet later appeared in 1852 but the one half was barely visible. It is interesting that the dispensation of the Bab, who was martyred in 1850, was ending just as one part of the comet was fading. Also, the return of Bielas in 1852 happened in the same month and year that Baha'u'llah received His revelation. Another coincidence is that the comet of 1843 and the comet 1996 both appeared during the period of March 21, which is the spring equinox and the festival of Naw Ruz (Baha'i New Year). Thank you for your attention.
Fritz Kersting
fritzk@caribe.net