Halley's comet has been observed for millennia, and historically it was thought to foretell doom. In the year 989, an Anglo-Saxon wrote: "...a comet, portending (they say) a change in governments, appeared, trailing its long flaming hair through the empty sky: concerning which there was a fine saying of a monk of our monastery called Æthelmær. Crouching in terror at the sight of the gleaming star, ‘You've come, have you?’, he said. ‘You've come, you source of tears to many mothers. It is long since I saw you; but as I see you now you are much more terrible, for I see you brandishing the downfall of my country.’" Roughly 1000 years later, in the same general area, this turquoise and pearl brooch was made to commemorate the 1835 passing of Halley's comet. People weren't afraid this time, because astronomers - namely, Edmond Halley - had scientific evidence that the comet was coming. People were pretty confident they were about to witness a meteorological event, not a sign from an angry God(dess.)