The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1857-06-18
TIE PACIFIC
Commercial Advertiser.
The Comet of 1851.

$4,000
nOunced as the prediction of a German astronomer
the destruction of the world by a comet, on the 18th
of June. This ridiculous news repeated by echoes
great and small, has spread over Europe with amazing
rapidity. 1t is now the universal topic of conversa-
ton in every class of society. What IS there-not to
speak of truth, but-Of probability in this predlc-
ton relative to the comet said to lie expected on the
18th of June? NOthing-absOlutely nothing. In
the first place, what is the name of the German as
tronOmer who has undertaken to warn the world OF
its premature end? No one was able TO cite the name,
although latterly something has leaked out on tins
subject. 1t now appears that the prophet Of evil is
Matthew Llensberg.
But Matthew LGensberg is neither a German nor
an astronomer. He isa Belgian and Il canon of Liege.
Ills sole title to reputation i having compiled the
first Lege Almanac. MOreoEc e., what IS this pre-
dicted comet? Is it something new, or is it a comet
already known, of which they foretell the return ? If
it is a new comet, we know well that an unknown
comet cannot be predicted; for to announce before
hand the aspiration of such q body 1t IS necessary to
be a true prophet. If the prediction relates only to
a comet previously observed. the orbit of which is
known. let them give us the elements of this wander
ing star, let them produce its progress day by day,
and let them publish the calculation which demon
strates the possibility Of its collision with the earth.
From the moment that it becomes n question Of Il
comet known to professed astronomers, it is to those
astronomers and their observations that we are to
look for the oracle. But ali the observatories are
silent, and they are silent because they have the GER
titude that there exists no comet at all menacing the
earth and destined to strike Oh the 18th Of June, this
year.
An influential Journal has unwisely entertained its
readers, in the midst of these chimerical terrOrs, with
an account of the comet OF 1864, which so much
alarmed the Emperor Charles V. when it appeared
in 1856. But this comet accomr lished its revolution
in 292 years.; it was, therefore, in 1S46 that ltShOuld
have shown itself in the heavens; but it was nowhere
perceived at that period. Planetary perturbatiOns
may have, without doubt, retarded 1t IN its course, 81
that its apparition may yet be expected. if indeed, it
did not, in 1913, arrive at its perihcliol invisible to
us-a circumstance that happens sometimes to this
kind of stars, which atmospheric accidents or pernla-
nent clouds hinder us from observing when they
should otherwise be accessible to our sight. Let us
admit, nevertheless, that the comet Of Charles '. is
yet to appear.
Never, certainly, has any astronomer thought of
making 1t q cause of alarm to the inhabitants of our
globe. The inclination OF its orbit on the ecliptic is
more than so degrees; it is, then, far from following
the same track as the earth. Moreover, many as
tronomers-Ar. Hind amongst othars-llaye recently
traced the ephemerides of the comet; they could,
then, tell us exactly III what point Of space, and
at what distance from the earth this comet ought
to be found Oh the 18th Of June, 1857. But to ask
them such questions would be to give an air of Seri-
business to a ridiculous prediction. With respect to
the question 50 often discussed as to the impossibilty
of a conclusion between Il comet and the earth, We
cannot do better than quote from L'.4strOnOmie
POpu}Gire of AragO, which gives all that can with
reason be advanced on the subject. Arago has cal
culated the chances which exist Of the shock Of q
comet against the earth in considering separately the
conclusion with the nucleus of the comet, and that
| NtliCu NOttIl ItSUlJ lItHI OIlliC WIN IN httit4 1ilCo
which surrounds or follows it, commonly known as
the tail.
For a shock by the nucleus of a comet says
AragO, Sc which might destroy the earth, we have
found one likely chance for 261 ,00t, 000 of unlikely
chances. For Il contact with the tail Of Il comet the
chances are 10 to 20 in 29I 900, 900. Admitting for
q moment that the nucleus Of comets striking the
earth would annihilate the human species, the danger
Of death which would result to each Individual from
the apparition of an unknown comet would be exactly
equal to the chances he would run If i'll an urn he
had but one white ball in q total Of 281 10000 balls,
and his condemnation to death would be the 1neVlta-
bic consequence of his drawing this white ball at the
first draw. Every man who makes use Of his senses
must laugh at a danger so remote
Although comets occupy an immense space in the
heavens, surprising millions of leagues, yet, by rea-
son of the absence of atmosphere In those regions,
permitting fluids to be infinitely rariied, the matter
Of these bodies is reduced to the most feeble proper
tons. Laplace says, on this subject: 'AlthOugh the
dimensions of the tails of comets be myriads of miles,
yet they do not sensibly affect the light of stars seen
through them. They are, then, of III extreme rarity,
and their mass is probably inferior to that Of the
smallest mountains ON earth. They cannot, then, by
their contact with the earth, produce any sensible eff
feet, and it is probable that they have frequently en-
Veloped the earth without being perceived 1t is
this which explains how many comets have passed in
proximity to certain planets without producing the
least physical influence.
Delambre tells us that the comet of 1870 passed be-
tween Jupiter and his satellites without causing any
sensible perturbation. Thus the comets. even to as
tronOmers, are but objects of curiosity. Sir John
Herschel goes still further, and says in express terms
that &c the tail of q large comet, as far as we can form
any idea of it, is composed of a few pounds of matter,
and perhaps only of a few ounces.'' What have we,
then, to fear from the shock from the body of a mass
so insignificant We will add, in conclusion, that
NJ. Babinet, one of the greatest authorities of the age
IN physical astronomy, has gone so far as to say.
{ the earth, in coming into coils on with a comet,
would be no more affected in its stability than would
q railway train coming III collision with a fly"
The author of the article in the influential Journal
to which we have alluded, has not hesitated to give q
lesson to N. Babinet on this subject, in reminding
him that "a natter even impalpable as a mist or vapor,
when moving with immense velocity, is capable of
producing the most destructive effects. The anony-
nous author of this article forgets that comets are
not endowed with much rapidity of motion, except
when very near the sun; at q distance from the sun
equal to that from the earth, they have already lost
all their velocity-at a still greater distance, they are
comparatively motionless; and in any case, as N. le
Verrier has very we'll observed, the comets are part
of our solar system, and the Creator of the universe
has taken into account their mass and their move
ments in establishing the laws of our planetary sys-
tem-laws which have been the admiration of all
great geniuses who have unveiled and comprehended
them.
1.-THE HORSE: ITS VARIETIEs.-Bv Ike Parfington.
The horse is a quadruped with four legs--tw0 be-
hind and two before. He has a tail, which grows to
tho hind part Of hS hO1r tL,+ ~o4,.. L. -