Why Newton Believed a Comet Caused Noah's Flood

A book purporting to prove that a comet caused Noah's Flood became a best-seller. Five editions were published by 1737, and it was translated into German. "Late in the autumn of 1680 the good people of Manhattan were overcome with terror at a sight in the heavens such as has seldom greeted human eyes," history tells us. That terrible sight was a comet so bright that it could be seen in daytime. Mathematician William Whiston was determined to reconcile apparent contradictions between mathematical laws and Biblical scripture.