Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1857-03-24
mprababir Prediction Gspieded-Ihe Comet
Of yuns ~. 1887.

II is truly ameniable 10 the excitement
PRODUCED by the inascreton Of a journal which
announced as the prediction of German as
ronomer the destruction of the world by "A comet
N the 18th of June next. This ridiculous news.
epeated by echoes great and small, has spread
yer Europe with amazing rapidity. 1t is now
he universal topic of conversation in every class
fsociety. What il there-not TO speak of truth
iut-of probability in this prediction relative to
he comet said To be expected on the 18th of
Tunel Nothing absolutely nothing In the
irst place. what is the name of the German as
rono hor who has undertaken to warn the world
fits premature end No enc was able to cite
h.. name although aiterly something has leaked
ut on This subject II now appears that the
,rophet IF evil il Matthew Lrnsberg.
But Matthew l.nn-bnrgis neither a German
or nm astronomer. lie is a Belgian and canon
fLiege. His sole title to reputation is his hay.
NJ compiled the first Lirge Almanac. Moreover.
THAT j. this predicted comet Is it something
lpw,or is il comet already known Of which they
,retell The rcinrn' If il il new comet, we know
veil TINT an unknown comet cannot be predic
ed; for to announce beforehand the appartion Of
uch n body it is necessary to be true prophet.
{ the prediction relates only to comet prev
,usy observed the orbit of which is known, let
hem give US the elements Of this wandering star
ct them produc" lis progress day by day, and
It them publish the calculation which demon
trnies the possibility of It's collision with thu
arth. From the moment that il becomes "A ques
ion Of u comet known to PROGRESSED astronomers.
/ is to these astronomers and their observations
hat we ara tn look for the oracle. But all the
,bseryatories silent, and they silent be.
muse they have the gertrude that there exists
10 comet Mt all nenaciug the eurih aud destined
o strike il on the 18th Of June this year
An influential journal has unwsely entertained
Is readers, in the midst Of these chimerical ter
a al. e ,t,l
80 much alarmed the Emperor Charles Y when it
reappenred in 1856. But this comet accomplish
I'd its revolution in 292 years. it was, therefore,
in lcl5 that it should have shown itself in the
heavens; but IT was nowhere perceived at TINT
period. Planetary preiurbaions may have. with
ont doubt, retarded IT in its course. so that its
appnriton may yet be expected II indeed IT did
not, in 1913. arrive at its perhelion invisible to
us--a circumstance that happens sometimes to
this kind of stars, which atmospheric accidents
or permanent clouds hinder US from observing
when they should otherwise be accessible To our
sight. Let us admit nevertheless that the comet
of Charles V j. yet To appear.
Never. certainly, has any astronomer thought
Of making it cause of alarm to tho inhabitants
Of our globe. The inclination Of lis orbit ON tho
eclipiic j. more thnn 30 degrees 1t il, then, far
from following the same track as the earth.
Moreover many ns,ronomers-Mr Hind amongst
othcrs-hnvo recently traced the ephemerles of
the comet: they could. then, tell Us exactly in
what point Of spnce and at what distance from
til" earth. this comet ought 10 be found on the
Eth June, lsj7. But to ask them such ques-
lions would be 10 give an air Of seriousness to n
ridiculous prediction With respect TO the ques-
ton often discussed rs to the possibility of n
conclusion between comet and the cath, we
cannot do better than quote from "L'Astronome
Populnre" Of Arngo, which gives all that can
with rrasou bo ndynuccd an the subject. Arngo
has calculated the chnnceS which exist OF the
shock of n com"t against the earth IN consider
ing separately the conclusion with the nucleus
Of the comet. aud TINT which woald result from
contract with the tluld mass which surrounds or
follows il, commonly knn IN as the tail.
For sheck by the nucleus # u comet" says
Arnso, which might de-tr"y the earth, we have
found one likely chance for 28l 900 900 of un
likely chance. For contact with the tail of
comet the chances ARE 10 or 20 III 2Sl 600, OUO.
Admitting for moment that the nucleus of com
ct, striking the earth would annlhilate the hu
mnn species, the danger of death which would
result to each individual from ,hr appa,itl"n of
an uuknowing comet would be exactly equal to
the chnnecs he would run if in mn urn he had but
one white ball ina total Of PSI 900 900 balls, ind
his condemn ion t" death would be the inrvita.
bio consequence of his drawing this white bali at
the first draw Every man who makes use ot
his senses must laugh at danger So remote
Although comets occupy an immense space IN
the heavens. surprising millions ol leagues, yet
by reason Of the absence of atmosphere III those
regions. permitting the fluids to be infinitely rar
flied the matter of these bodies is reduced to the
most feeble proportions. Laplnce says on this
sutirct-"A Although III" dimensions "t the tails
al cnmrts be myriad of miles, yet they do not
-rn.lhly effect the light Of stars seen through
Them. They nre, then, of an extreme rnrity.and
thoir mas. i, probably inferior to that of the
smallest mountains oh the earth. They cannot,
then, hy their contact with the earth, prodaee
ANY sensible effect, and it is probable that they
huve frequently enyelopcd the earth without be-
ing perceived" 1t is this which explains how
many comets hnye pa Sed in proximity To certain
planets without producing the least physical IN
llucncr.
Deambro tells Us that the comet of l770 pass
ed between Jupiter and his satellites without
causing any sensible perturbation. Ihns tie
comets even To astronomers are bat objects OF Gu
rosity. sir John llerSchell goes still further
aud says in express term that "thc tail of n large
comet rs far as we can form an idea of tits com
posed of IL few pounds of matter and perhaps
only of n few ounces" What have we then to
fear from the shock from body ola mass 50 in
significant We will add. in conclusion, that NJ.
i'ahnct one of the greatest authorities OF the
age in physical astronomy, has gone so far rs to
say, ''ihc earth in coming into collision with II
comet, would be no more affected in its stability
than would railway train coming in contact with
iv."
The author Of the article in the influential
journal to which we have alluded has not hcsitn
ted to give N lesson To VI. Babinet on this sub
rct, in reminding him that matter even mpol-
pable "a a mist ar vapor, when moving with I'm
mense velocity Is capable of producing the most
destructive effects. The anonymous author of
this article forgets that comets are not endowed
with much fapidity of motion, except when very