The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1853-11-02

BY PROFESSOR ]. BOLD ELLIOTT.

OF all the celestial objects which
have attracted the attention of man
kind, in all ages, none have excited
such universal and lively apprehension
as the comets. No doubt they were
launched into their respective orbits
at creations dawn. "when the morning
stars sang together, and all the sons
of God shouted for joy" To tell of
them as chariots conveying the souls
of departed heroes to the skies, or as
vehicles transporting spirits to the
realms of Paradise or the regions Of
etcinal woe, would fill volume Of Gu.
rious but foolish matter.
Yet the strong and many Of the
great among the ancients have been
moved by the apparition of
"The Ua=iag star,
Threat 'nirg the world with famine plague
and war;
Toprinces dcath-to kingdoms many cross
cS;
To all estates, inevitable losses
To hcrdsmcn, rot-to ploughmcn, hapless
seasons;
Tosaiors, storns-to cities, civil trcasons."
Thus they were viewed till science
tracked them through almost iuGnite
causes and brought back the record Of
their harmlcssness.
Aristotle and bis followers thought
them metcors, born and lerishing i'll
our atmosphere but science, with a
kind Of prophetic vision, SAID they
ought to be ranked among the eternal
works Of nature they have their prop
er places aud are not easily moved
from them they 90 their courses and
arc not e.rtinJuished but run Of from
as.
From all points of the heavens they
come to pass round our sun IN obedl-
cncc to that firm law, which bids the
earth and the planet pursue their All
nual orbits. Tycha Brahe first placed
them beyond our atmosphere, and
even beyond the region Of the moon.
IIeviins ascertaincd the concayity Of
their orbits. Newton demonstrated
their path round the sun to be ellipti
cal, yet hcstated in saying they
would return" But Haley examined,
compared and decided, and twice has
one returned to confirm his conclu-
sions.
Since then an Encke, a Biela, Foye,
De Nico and Bronson have determin-
ed the times and places of these seem
ing wanderers, and with perfect accur-
acy.
To determine their wondrous paths,
requires the highest powers Of the
mathematician hence comparatively
few have been accurately examined.
During the age Of cometary astronomy
to the present time, the orbits Of only
about 100 have been observed, while
millions are floating through the uni
verse, or as one astronomer, on being
asked their number, said :" as many
as fish in the sea-"
The three principal features OF a
comet are nucleus, envelope and tail.
The nucleus in the above comet was
strongly defined, and may be termed
the central density. 1t was surround
ed by the envelope, or kind Of nebulo
sity, the "horrid hair" of poetry. The
tail of this comet was very distinctly
visible, especially to those living neal
the northern tropic, and when at its
perihelion. was exhibited in this lati-
tude (32) at from 6 deg. to 10 deg
in length. In our atmosphere, the
nucleus and central portion of the tai
appeared quite rcd. This was not the
case in highor latitudes, and may &C
count in part for its appearing O.
greater magnitude than some have re
presented it.
The above diagram has been pre-
pared not to give its position with as
Economical accuracy, but to show hoy
the various positions of comctic, mete
oric and aerolitic objects may easil.
be represented by the common obscrV
er, in all parts Of the globe.
And as knowledge of these bodie
depends chiefly on the observation o
their multiiarious phenomena, it woul
certainly advance the cause ofsclenc
if more watthmen were appointed st
tell US of the night"
As the stars appear to be fixed l
their relative positions, they may sery
as points with which to compare til
other innumerable moving bodies, an
in the absence Of various astronomici
instruments, cord stretched betwee
the hands across visible stars, will dC
termine relative positions very vel
and with the aid of line and plumme
!, give vertical direction many hundre
c persons may, with good judgment
become useful observers.
A few evenings more, and We ma
expect some fine exhibitions of met
oric and aerolitic character. Then v
; would turn to the heavens and lea
that not to the earth are those bris
luminaries ollicious, but to thee, ,edrh
y habitant."