Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1857-05-28
.r From the New York Evening Post.
The Comet and its "Ten Billion
as Leagues of Tail"
ION tn other side


unterri6ed. and ike comet burned,
That fires the length OF Ophiucus huge
In Arrtic, sky, and from his horrid hair
7 Shakes pestiiescs IND 'war. = - -. -
The recent appearance Of two teles copi
comets, adds new sest to the prediction o
a millennium comet, vi hich = distinguishes
popular lecturer of France has used, on the
authority of some obscure German writer, tt
tickle the faucies of his wonder-lnving coun
trymen 1t is certain that no data exist
on which the predicted collision ofa come
with our earth can be founded, anu no init
nation of such an event has appeared il
any responsible scientific periodical.
Our scientific lecturers and popular wri
ters seem quite as much given to the inven
ton OF fables as the older ba.ds of mylhiC
stories, and find quite as willing an ear in
the Indying love of wonder of q credulous
people. Instead of summoning the gods to
fight mems battles and destroy cities, they
predict deluges and judgment-days at the
hands of those celestial will-'o-the-wisps
the comets.
credulty, and popular lecturers DWELL more
on what is uncertain or purely fabulous in
science than on well established facts We
hear great deal from the lyceum about the
nebulous origin of the solar system, the px-
istence of central sun in the group of the
Peiades, and the malignant disposition ol
the Comets. These vague and unfounted
speculations are set by the side of tne best
established certainties Of science in Dor.
lowed light, and are thus accredited pre-
cisely as the Homeric tales were through
the traditions of popular religions.
But have We nothing to fear from the
wandering comets! Most certainly we
have. "The thing in the world" says
Montague, 81 am most afraid Of, is fear;''
and this, we think, is the diresI calamity
comets have ever brought in their trains
Men are nightly given to the worship Of
occult causes, and when anything does ap-
pear under the sun, i, is invested with an
omnuotence of evil painful to contemplate.
The facts in regard to these wanderers
are few AID s,mpie-the cohjec,ures many
and miraculous. In the first place, comets
are much uore numerous than angels visits,
about five year having been observed dur
ing the period when the prize of comet
medal, offered by the King of Denmark,
stimulated the zeal of amateur astronomers.
1t is probable that all the comets visible
in the Northern hemisphere, with the opti-
cal means of the amateurs, were seen during
this period, for there was scarcely a comet
which had not several independent discov-
erers. Since the comet-medals have been
Withdrawn. the annual average discoveries
has sensibly diminished. and it may not be
out of place here to suggest to our Aneri-
can princes, what indeed was urged before
the "American Association for the Advance
ment OF Science" last summer, that a re-
newal OF these prize-medals in this country
might be OF signal service to American As
trOnomy.
The comets already discovered are un-
questionably but very small part of the
swarm which are fitting like great celestial
mosquitoes round the sun
Wniie modern observations have thus es-
tablished the gregarious habits of these long
tailed monsters, the minutest observations
and the exactest calculations have failed to
detect the slightest disturbing effect from
them in the motions of the planets, though
the comets themselves have suffered great
disturbances.
The remarkable case OF Lexell's comet
deserves special mention. This comet pass
ed in ITO very near the earth, after having
made a similar approach to Jupiter. Its
orbit was determined and its return pre-
dicted from observations then made; but it
never came back, and subsequent calcula
tons showed that it's return was prevented
by the action of Jupiter during second and
still nearer approach OF the comet. even
within the jovial circle OF the old fellows
retaipers. The comet entirely changed its
Course after this interview, and was never
recognized again, yet the circum-jovial sat
illltes kept steadily on their old courses.
1t is highly probable that comets make a
great show with very little material; and
the chance Of the earth's being hit by the
little solid master there is in any Of them,
is very small. The prediction of collision
is beyond the power OF mathematics, Tor
The position Of comets orbit, and the
comets position at any time IN its orbit,
cannot be determined with sufficient pre-
cision; and even il the data were sufficient
ly exact to predict collision OF the earth
and comet in their undls urbed orbits, it
would be impossible to determine with pre-
cision the modifying effect Of their mutual
action. In all probability a comet. even
coming within the dominant influence Of
the earth's attraction. " ould pass by and be
whisked off into another orbit. The earth's
body is small mark for a comet to aim at.
The comets tail is, to be sure, sometimes
OF very inconverient length. but it gives
SO many Indications of ghustly nature, is
SO transparent and unsubslantial, that our
atmo> phere is an adamant TO it. Yet it is
possible, in a collision where no actual con-
fusion may occur, that the malignant indu-
ences and dire caamities II ay soak in, and
SO there is unfortunately a chance Of Ton
sicting these heavenly vagubonds OF the
charges which superstition aud ignorance
have in pas ages made against them.
Meteurs, dark days and discusses ore still
to be accounted TOR, a d until they are
traced to their causes, men will stand, as
Lord Kenyon used to say, super ant,quas
u,us.-on their old superstitions,
The lacge number Of comets, their ever
varying appearance, and the great pellur-
bations Of their orbits, make the ident,tica-
ton OF any but those of short periods, ex-
tremely difficult, and, as yet. little or moth
ing is known about their nature and consti-
tuition. Cosmetic astronomy is still in its
infancy. Ali that is unknown is common
GROUND, and SO We find The physicians and