In the 1830s there had been sightings of numerous comets, including Halley's, Encke's, Lexell's and Biela's. There was genuine fear among the North American population that this might cause the end of the world. In fact, apocalyptic tales of Scripture had often been associated with cosmic impacts.

I was intrigued by how, in the story, the scientific and the religious perspective on the approaching comet (quite symbolically) compete against each other. The self-acclaimed sober mind observes the phenomenon and ascribes "historical attributes" to the celestial body; it's able to convince the masses to take an equally distancing attitude. But the more it manifests itself in the firmament, the more the people are under the spell and terror of impending doom just as preached by clergymen.

Maybe it's no coincidence that death itself plays a crucial role within the story. In the framing narrative, a person now called Eiros is identified as a victim of the apocalypse. Not only was this a pretty cool plug for the tale, it might suggest to us that the comet can be perceived as impending death. No matter what the intrepid philosophers of your day might say, the closer you get to the end, the more the passions and fears might win over reason.

As an amusing embellishment, it's said that the people face their death elated, later explained by reference to the increasing dominance of pure oxygen in the atmosphere. Actually, that too is similar to how many people spend their final hours.