A distant comet explodes, another Red Sox omen?

(Dennis diCicco / Sky & Telescope magazine/Globe file photo)

On Oct. 27, 2004, a lunar eclipse when the Red Sox were winning their first championship in 86 years. Wednesday night, a comet discovered 115 years ago exploded in a burst of light and Boston scored 13 runs in its second World Series in four seasons.

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

The Red Sox may have been favored in Game 1 of the World Series, but no pundit predicted that Boston would explode for 13 runs and wallop the Colorado Rockies. If baseball writers would have looked skyward, they might have noticed an omen on the northeast horizon.

"There is a cosmic explosion event that mimics the Sox outburst," Richard P. Binzel, a professor of planetary science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said today in an e-mail.

A distant comet exploded in a blast of light that shined a million times brighter than the night before.

"Comet Holmes, which has been orbiting quietly since its discovery in 1892, has undergone a million-fold brightness increase on October 24 -- and is now visible to the naked eye (though difficult from under the lights of Fenway)," Binzel said.

The comet was discovered by Englishman Edwin Holmes in November 1892 -- the same year the Boston Beaneaters went 102 and 48 and captured the National League Pennant. The Beaneaters team, which would eventually change its name to the Braves and move to Milwaukee and Atlanta, beat the Cleveland Spiders that year in the World Championship Series.

Can the Red Sox' fortunes be predicted by celestial events? Some fans may recall the lunar eclipse of Oct. 27, 2004 -- the night Boston won its first World Series in 86 years. For Game 2 tonight, there may be another sign in the sky.

"There will be a full moon (but no lunar eclipse as in 2004) for tonight's World Series game," Binzel said.

• Comment
• Permalink
• Email