The kinds of things that can get humans really worked up are planetary conjunctions, solar eclipses, aurora, comets, meteor showers and meteor falls. Also, a few supernovae and novae are thrown in too since they light up the sky for days-weeks at a time. Not only have sightings of Halley’s Comet been powerful portends of gloom and doom, but certain planetary conjunctions have come at key times in human history. The table below provides a timeline of the many events that have made some historical impact since the earliest recorded sightings of solar eclipses.
Humans have been terrified by spectacular meteor showers, and in some rare instances, have been injured of killed by being hit by meteorites. There are a number of total solar eclipses that have been seen since ancient times that were mentioned in ancient texts such as the solar eclipse mentioned by Xerxes. The deaths of Herod, Augustus Caesar and Jesus Christ happened during lunar eclipses. When you tally up how many of these astronomical events have been recorded by humans and affected them in one way or another, the list is a very long one.
| Date | Event | Impact |
| May 3,1374 BC | Eclipse | Ugarit Eclipse – oldest documented sighting |
| June 3,1301 BC | Eclipse | Early Chinese Eclipse observation |
| April 16,1177 BC | Eclipse | Homer’s Odyssey |
| June 15762 BC | Eclipse | Assyrian Eclipse |
| April 6,647 BC | Eclipse | Archilochus Eclipse |
| May 28584 BC | Eclipse | Heroditus Eclipse |
| October 2,479 BC | Eclipse | Xerxes Eclipse |
| Aug 28,412 BC | Eclipse | Siege of Syracuse |
| April 15,405 BC | Eclipse | Fire in the Temple of Athena |
| Sept 20,330 BC | Eclipse | Arbela battle of Alexander the Great |
| 240 BC | Halleys Comet | sighting by Chinese astrologers |
| April 17,6 BC | Conjunction | Star of Bethelehem in Leo/Ares |
| March 23,4 BC | Eclipse | Death of Herod |
| Sept 27,14 AD | Eclipse | Death of Augustus |
| 33 AD | Eclipse | Crucifixion of Jesus |
| 37 AD | Aurora | Caesar sends soldiers north to put |
| 60 AD | Halleys Comet | Nero has all possible successors executed |
| March 20, 71 AD | Eclipse | Plutarch’s Eclipse |
| Nov 24,569 AD | Eclipse | Eclipse preceding birth of Mohammad |
| 616 AD | Meteorite | meteorite kills 10 solders in a |
| May 5,840 AD | Eclipse | Treaty of Verdun |
| 902 AD | Meteor storm | Leonids recorded by Arab astronomers |
| Dec 22,968 AD | Eclipse | Eclipse Constantinople. Leo Diaconus discovers corona. |
| 1006 AD | Supernova | 2 yrs. Brighter than Venus |
| Dec 28,1047 AD | Conjunction | M-J-S-Sun less than 3.4deg |
| 1054 AD | Supernova | 1 m= -3.5. Chinese, Japanese. Pueblo |
| 1066 AD | Halleys Comet | Battle of Hastings-Mass terror-Europe. Bayeux Tapestry |
| April 24,1146 AD | Conjunction | M-J-S-Sun less than 3.2 deg |
| 1181 AD | Supernova | 6 months. m= -1 |
| Sep 201186 AD | Conjunction | M-J-S-Sun less than 7 deg |
| Jan 15,1192 AD | Aurora | Seen in Flanders |
| May 14,1230 AD | Eclipse | S. Eclipse Major European eclipse |
| Jan 3,1285 AD | Conjunction | M-J-S-Sun less than 9.5 deg. |
| 1341 AD | Meteorite | meteorite shower killed people |
| June 21,1385 AD | Conjunction | M-J-S-Sun less than 3.8 deg |
| Nov 9,1425 AD | Conjunction | M-J-S-Sun less than 8.4 deg |
| May 22,1453 AD | Eclipse | Eclipse The fall of Constantinople |
| 1456 AD | Halleys Comet | Blamed for earthquakes, illness |
| 1490 AD | Meteorite | Meteorite Shower kills thousands. |
| March 1,1504 AD | Eclipse | Eclipse Christopher Columbus eclipse in Americas |
| Sept. 1511 AD | Meteorite | Monk killed by meteorite fall |
| Feb 18,1524 AD | Conjunction | M-J-S-Sun less than 7 deg |
| 1531 AD | Halleys Comet | Pisarro conquest of Incas |
| October 1572 AD | Supernova | Tycho’s SN. -4.0. Cassiopeia. lasted 483 days |
| 1577 AD | Comet | Aristotlean crystalline spheres |
| October 5,1591 AD | Aurora | Seen in Europe |
| 1599 AD | Comet | sees Cortez as fulfillment of prophesy |
| 1604 AD | Supernova | 365 days. m= -2.6 |
| 1607 AD | Halleys Comet | Observed by Johannes Kepler |
| July 9,1622 AD | Conjunction | M-J-S-Sun less than 7.4 deg |
| Aug 22,1624 AD | Conjunction | M-J-S-Sun less than 9 deg |
| Nov 171630 AD | Meteor storm | Storm Leonids light up sky for Keplers |
| 1639 AD | Venus transit | First observed by human |
| 1639 AD | Meteorite | County meteorite kills 10s of people |
| ca 1650 AD | Meteorite | Monk in Milano killed by meteorite. Artery |
| ca 1658 AD | Supernova | Cass-A. (3 Cass? seen by Flamsteed before |
| 1680 AD | Comet | Great Comet. |
| Feb. 10,1681 AD | Aurora | Seen in Europe |
| 1682 AD | Halleys Comet | Orbit calculated by Edmund Halley |
| May 3,1715 AD | Eclipse | Eclipse Edmund Halley’s eclipse |
| March 17,1716 AD | Aurora | Seen in Europe |
| 1729 AD | Comet | Comet of 1729 |
| 1759 AD | Halleys Comet | First prediction by Edmund Halley. |
| 1744 AD | Comet | and famous comet de Chesaux’s Comet. |
| June 6,1761 AD | Venus Transit | T. Major international observing campaign |
| August 5,1766 AD | Eclipse | Eclipse Captain Cook’s eclipse |
| June 3,1769 AD | Venus Transit | T Captain Cook expeditions |
| 1799 AD | Meteor storm | von Humbolt mentions intense storm |
| April 26,1803 AD | Meteorite | Major fall on L’Aigle France. |
| Jan 15,1805 AD | Eclipse | Eclipse The Lewis and Clark Expedition eclipse |
| 1811 AD | Comet | Comet of 1811 |
| Nov 12,1833 AD | Meteor storm | Storm Major Leonid shower terrified millions. |
| 1835 AD | Halleys Comet | Blamed for Alamo massacre and NY |
| Sept 15,1839 AD | Aurora | Great Aurora seen in England |
| 1843 AD | Comet | Comet of 1843 |
| Nov. 17,1848 AD | Aurora | Great Aurora. California Cuba, Europe. Telegraphs. |
| Aug. 28,1859 AD | Aurora | Great Aurora. Cuba, Rome, Europe. |
| 1858 AD | Comet | Comet |
| Sept. 2,1859 AD | Aurora | Athens. San Salvador. Major white light flare. |
| Sep 2,1861 AD | Conjunction | M-J-S-Sun less than 3.6 deg. |
| 1861 AD | Comet | Comet of 1861 |
| Feb 4,1872 AD | Aurora | Great Aurora Mexico, Athens, India |
| Dec. 91874 AD | Venus Transit | T Venus Transit. Major international expeditions |
| Jan 22,1879 AD | Eclipse | Eclipse Zulu War Eclipse |
| 1881 AD | Comet | Comet of 1881 |
| Nov 18,1882 AD | Aurora | Great Aurora, Cuba, Mexico, US. Telegraph outages.. |
| 1882 AD | Comet | Comet. Photographed for first time. |
| Dec 6,1882 AD | Venus Transit | T Photos and major public interest. |
| March 30,1886 AD | Aurora | Great Aurora. England, China, Japan, India |
| Feb. 13,1892 AD | Aurora | Great Aurora. Iowa, New York |
| Mar. 30,1894 AD | Aurora | England |
| 1897 AD | Meteorite | kills horse. New Martinsville WV. |
| Sept. 9,1898 AD | Aurora | Great Aurora. Omaha, Tenn. New York |
| 1899 AD | Meteor storm | No Leonids. Public disappointed in astronomers |
| Nov. 11903 AD | Aurora | Great Aurora.Europe,N. America. France telegraphs |
| 1907 AD | Meteorite | Meteorite kills Wan family |
| June 30,1908 AD | Meteorite | Tunguska Explosion |
| Sept. 25,1909 AD | Aurora | Great Aurora. Singapore. |
| 1910 AD | Halleys Comet | Comet Hysteria. Suicides. Mayhem. Deadly gas. |
| January 1910 AD | Comet | Great Daylight Comet of 1910 |
| April 17,1912 AD | Eclipse | Eclipse The ‘Titanic’ eclipse |
| April 25,1915 AD | Meteorite | China. Meteorite rips womans arm off. |
| July 4,1917 AD | Eclipse | Eclipse Lawrence of Arabia’s eclipse |
| August 7,1917 AD | Aurora | Great Aurora. New York. Illinois |
| May 29,1919 AD | Eclipse | Eclipse Einstein’s Eclipse |
| March 22,1920 AD | Aurora | Great Aurora Boston, Washington, Norway |
| May 14,1921 AD | Aurora | Great Aurora. England. Samoa, Jamaica. |
| Jan 24,1925 AD | Eclipse | Eclipse NY City’s Winter Morning eclipse |
| Jan. 26,1926 AD | Aurora | Great Aurora. US, Scandinavia. London blackout |
| Dec 8,1929 AD | Meteorite | Meteorite kills a person in Yugoslavia |
| August 31,1932 AD | Eclipse | Eclipse Great Maine eclipse |
| Jan 25,1938 AD | Aurora | Great Aurora. US. North Africa. Fatima Aurora |
| March 24,1940 AD | Aurora | Great Aurora. N. Dakota. Blackout in N.East |
| Sept. 18,1941 AD | Aurora | Great Aurora. TV/Radio disruption in N. America |
| July 26,1946 AD | Aurora | Great Aurora. Boston, Tenn. |
| 1948 AD | Meteor | Fireball. 2300 pound meteor recovered |
| Nov. 6,1951 AD | Meteorite | Bremerton, Wash. Man injured by meteorite |
| 1954 AD | Meteorite | injures woman. Sylacauga, Alabama. |
| Feb. 24,1956 AD | Aurora | Iceland, Alaska. Intense cosmic ray blast. |
| Sept 13,1957 AD | Aurora | Great Aurora. Mexico |
| Feb 10,1958 AD | Aurora | Great Aurora. N. America, USSR. SW Blackout |
| October 1965 AD | Comet | Ikeya-Seki |
| Nov 17,1966 AD | Meteor storm | Storm Major Leonid shower over Central U,S. |
| Feb 8,1969 AD | Meteorite | Allende fall. Famous and spectacular |
| March 23,1969 AD | Aurora | North America |
| Sept 28,1969 AD | Meteorite | Murchison fall. Spectacular and famous. |
| March 1970 AD | Comet | Comet Bennett – very bright |
| August 4,1972 AD | Aurora | Great Aurora. N.America, Canada, Scandinavia. |
| August 10,1972 AD | Fireball | Daytime over Grand Tetons – 1000 tons. |
| January, 1974 AD | Comet | Kohoutek – a big but famous fizzle |
| March, 1976 AD | Comet | Comet West |
| March 5,1981 AD | Aurora | Great Aurora. Colorado. |
| February 1987 AD | Supernova | Large Magellanic Clouds. Optically discovered. |
| March 13,1989 AD | Aurora | Great Aurora. Canada, US. Quebec Power Blackout |
| October 9,1992 AD | Meteorite | Peekskill meteorite hits car. |
| July 16,1994 AD | Comet | Shoemaker-Levy collides with Jupiter |
| March 26,1996 AD | Comet | Hyakutake – Very bright |
| Jan 11,1997 AD | Solar storm | Storm Telstar 401 satellite damaged |
| April, 1997 AD | Comet | Hale-Bopp. Much celebrated |
| May 5,2000 AD | Conjunction | M-J-S-Sun less than 18 degrees |
| Oct 14,2001 AD | Meteorite | Canadian Fireball. |
| July 15,2000 AD | Solar storm | Storm Bastille Day Storm |
| April 2,2001 AD | Solar storm | Storm Major X20 Solar Flare |
| March, 2003 AD | Meteorite | Several Illinois towns hit by debris. Damage |
| June 8,2004 AD | Venus transit | First observation in 122 years. |
| June 6,2012 AD | Venus transit | Second observation in 122 years. |
| February 15,2013 AD | Meteorite | Explodes over Chelyabinsk and injurs 1,500 people |
| June 13, 2014 AD | Moon | Full moon on Friday ther 13th |
| August 21, 2017 AD | Eclipse | First total solar eclipse over Continental USA in over 30 years |
| March 31, 2018 AD | Moon | Two Blue Moons in same year January 31 and March 31 |
| December 21, 2020 AD | Conjunction | Saturn and Jupiter 7 arcminues apart |
| April 13, 2029 AD | Asteroid | Apophis comes within 19,000 miles of Earth |
__________________________________________________________________________________________________ Note: Abbreviations - Venus T. (Venus Transit of Sun). S. Exlipse (Total Solar Eclipse), S. Storm (Solar Storm), Halley's C. (Halley's Comet), L. Eclipse (Lunar Eclipse), M. Storm (Intense meteor shower - Meteor Storm)