Constantinople (Istanbul), Turkey — 989
Erratic “comet”
“The star appeared in the west after sunset; it rose in the evening and had no fixed place in the sky. It spread bright rays, visible from a great distance, and kept moving, appearing further north or further south, and once when it rose changed its place in the sky, making sudden and fast movements. The people who saw the comet (sic) were stunned, in awe, and believe that such strange movements are an evil omen. And just as people expected, something happened: in the evening of the day when they usually celebrated the memory of Velikomuchenik (a martyr of early Christianity), a tremendous earthquake brought down the towers of Byzantium…” It seems to us today that an object that “changes its place in the sky, making sudden and fast movements,” cannot be a comet if the description is accurate. However Gary Kronk’s Cometography indicates that Halley’s Comet was visible in the night sky during July and August of 989, based on Chinese accounts, so some confusion is possible.
Source: Istoria (“History”), a 10th century manuscript by Byzantian writer Lev Diakon. Quoted from a modern Russian edition: Lev Diakon, Istoria, trans. M. Kopylenko (Moscow: G. Litavrin, 1988), 91. Case: W023