The Comet Kohoutek

In 1973 the Comet Kohoutek was due to pass the Earth. Billed the Comet of the Century, it was going to give us a spectacular astronomical show. Some said that this celestial body had never come our way before, while others said that it had an orbit so huge that it passed by only once every 75,000 years. Regardless, hopes were high, and Kohoutek helped spark a brief interest in comets and astronomy in general. People bought telescopes and prepared for the big event.

Comets have traditionally been seen as signs of coming disaster, and this one was no different. The astrologers, who had just announced the Age of Aquarius (Harmony and understanding...) now said we were going to Hell in a bucket. Moses David (born David Berg), founder of the infamous Children of God ("Hookers for Christ") cult, said the End was near, and took off for Europe with his faithful. (The more skeptical amongst us thought it might have had to do with avoiding criminal charges). But the most far-out notion came from that Sixties icon Timothy Leary, who announced that Kohoutek was a sign that we should all begin building a starship, to be named Terra II, so that we could leave this planet. Perhaps Leary's cosmic insight was the result of an acid trip undertaken while listening to a 1970 Jefferson Starship album called "Blows Against the Empire," which had the theme of hijacking a spaceship. But I'm being too cynical, I know.

When Kohoutek finally passed the Earth it turned out to be a major disappointment. Few of us were able to see it, and one group of astronomers actually threw a "comet party" at which they deliberately served weak punch. Some folks dubbed it "Comet Watergate."