Arkansas intelligencer., 1843-03-18
For the Arkansas Intelligencer.
~. o THFCOMFT -

many In every community, VINO must needs inter-
pret every unusual phenomenon of nature as some
dreadful omen-and comets in particular as fright
ful foreboders Of "war, pestilence and famine
word or two in explanation of these celestial OBJ
jects, will perhaps more edify than amuse such
as have not at hand some treatise on the subject.
I Comets, like planets are known mostly to move
in regular orbits-only sometimes perverted from
their direct paths by other powerful celestial
bodies, near which they may chance to pass. But
their orbits are all very eccentric elpses; some
of them indeed are so exceedingly elongated, that
they have been ranked as hyperbolic, whence. the
comets may never return, but be lost in the infin-
ity of space amongst other systenls-~or atleas,
the period of their return is blended with an inca
culable futurity. Others are calculated TO per.
form their circuits, and reappear every4 or SOC
years-others every SO to 100 years-others a,
shorter intervals; whilst one (Encke's Cornet) com
petes its revolution every 3 ] years: but this Com
ct, being invisible to The naked eye, is never seer
by the common observer. ~. 90 sr
The number of comets which pertain to the 50
lar system is presumed to be very great as many
are supposed never TO be seen ct all, on account
of their smallness or tenuity, or therappoaring a
bove the horizon only in the day. One of exceed
ing brightness is recorded in ancient history as
having appeared near the sun, during a total e.
clipse. The elements of over hundred have been
computed, and the returns of several accurately '
predicted. Of these, that of 1911 and Halley's
Comet are amongst the most Bile. The latte,
revolves in its orbit little under 76 wears its
repeated appea RANGES having been observed since
l305-the seventh and last since which was in
the fall of 1885.
A perfect comet consists of the nucleus O,
opaque part, the coma or nebuous errelope which
surrounds it, and thetaa or gaseous vapour, which
always extends in direct line fom the sun. Blu
some comets have only the coma and tail, willis
others consist in eject of the ''tail' alone, that is
of q mass of the most attenua.e vapour Tht
Tail CT q comet is Of such exceeding tenuity tha,
the smallest stars visible through il. Sir Isaa,
Newton calculated, how incredible soever il ma,
appear, that if all the matter contained in tn,
iarges: one OF these misty trains were compress
ed into the density Of atmospheric air, i wou!t
not occupy over cubic inch! On this account
many philosophers conteed, that even were tn,
tail of comet to strike the earth, its effects
would be warded from the surface BY tho superi
or density of the atmosphere perhaps
in luminous but harmless meteors: and, to carr,
out the idea. why may we not suppose, as man,
OF these nebulous masses are floating through
universal space, some only dstinguishable througl
powerful telescopes, while many more no doub
are totally invisible, that the meterioc showers
which havo been observed at different periods
and particularly that of 1888, might have result
ed from the adjunction of one of these cometa
ry nebule! But even admitting the terrible con
sequences which some have prefgured from CO
metlc conclusion, the chances for it to happer
are not one as to even hundreds of millions and
from their superative lightness, though one shoul,
pass very near the earth, (as has indeed alread,
more than once happened,) it is not calculated
that 1t would nave any sensible effect upon it
The comet of ITO became "entangled," as as
tronomers express it, amongst Jupiters satellite.
for four months before it was entirely extricatet
from the attractive influence of that planet We
no Percelvable effects remained, either upon Jupi
ter or any Of his satellites, though the come
pa ssed very near some of them, and its tail seem
ed to sweep amongst them. ..s
The tails Of comets have been estimated of va
rious lengths: some projecting like diminutive
blaze, whilst that of 1911 covered an arc in thu
heavens of over quarter of circle, and was cal
culated to be about 1872 millions of miles long
though with nucleus of under 500 mics in d
ameter. The tail increases in length as the CO.
met approaches the sun, and diminishes as 1t re-
cedes and when at great distance it is supposed
to resolve Itself into q globular mass around it.
nucleus. This vaporous medium accounts fol
that pale, hazy, lurid light with which they shine
Though the divine wisdom creates nothing ir
vain, the physical nature and purposes of comets
are left to tho vaguest conjecture. Some specu
lative theorists have advanced, that, to maintain
the equilibrium of the universe, those whose re-
turns are at remote periods, may servo as connect
ing links betwixt ours and others of the innumer.
able systems of worlds, of which the fixed stars
are supposed to form the centres. 1t has been ia.
cetiously but rather ingeniously suggested thai
they constitute the internal regions an apt de.
vice for torment this for, at their aphelion mos
of them must traverse space of utterly incacu.