It’s February 9, and Halley’s Comet last appeared in our solar system on this date in 1986. Halley’s Comet comes around every 75 years or so, and its next appearance is expected sometime in 2061. Before 1986, Halley’s Comet appeared in 1835 and 1910, and those years are significant because they are the birth year and death year of Mark Twain, who predicted he’d die in a Halley’s Comet appearance year after being born in one. Mark Twain wrote A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, and that is one of the novels homeschool students read in our Literature 3: Selected American Classics course. We are happy to offer that course among many high school correspondence courses, and a good way to make your accredited high school courses come to life is to visit the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum in Hannibal, Missouri. You won’t see Halley’s Comet pass by while you’re there, but you will learn more about a prolific American author and enhance your experience as an American School student.
