Meteor sightings was a rather common thing to cause disturbance though, happened a lot in a lot of countries during the 17th century (well other phenomonons in the sky as well but those are suposedly counted into this). The inovativeness of your population shouldn't affect it as you realistically can't affect the inovativeness of the simple peasants with your sliders much anyway. You can only affect so much as a monarch, the everyday life of a monarchs citizens was something they tried to make laws about all the time. But they didn't really start to enforce them untill during the later half of the game...
Also keep in mind that an Inovative population in the 17th century and before would still be very supersticious compared to today... Even the most enligthened of schollars feared the comets and halucinations of battles in the sky that people of the period where seeing.
Also keep in mind that an Inovative population in the 17th century and before would still be very supersticious compared to today... Even the most enligthened of schollars feared the comets and halucinations of battles in the sky that people of the period where seeing.