Marshall County Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1855-1859, 1857-05-21
The esnet-Win it Destroy the Earthi
History q MComets.


ly approaching, when We are told By the
French and German astronomers that a
comet will come in contact with the earth,
and either displace it from its orbit or con-
sumo il with fire, we have collected from
such works on astronomy as are within our
reach. the following observations upon
comets, which at this time, when tyeo COM
cts are visible, may not be uninteresling to
our readers. The wonderful Characters
tic which marks the flights Of comets
through space-their singular form and
terrific appearance--reudered these bodies,
in the early ages. objects of terror and
dread. Superstition regarded these wandr-
irg fiery worlds with awe, and look up
on them as omens Of war, peslileace and
famine. All the great and calamitous
events of ma, ions'wers ascrbed to their ap-
pearance; but at the present enlightened
period. the appearance Of comet is no
more a rodigy. and has no more influence
upon The ia,e Of men and nations, than the
appearance of the moon. AS far AS obser-
vaiion has gone they are subject to the
same laws as the planets revolving about
the suns orbit or path. with this differ
cnce, that their orbits are more excentric,
or differ much more from circles than
that Of the planets; and thus, while they
approach much nexssr to the sun. they re-
cede correspondingly further from it,
The following are among the most re-
markable Of which we have any account.
AT the time of the birth of Mithridates.
l30 years before Christ, we have an ac-
count of comet whose magnitude must
have been far beyond anything subse-
quently seen. as its splendor is said to
have surpassed that ef the sun. In the
year x48, 324 and 399 Of the christian era,
remarkable comets are recorded to hare
appeared; and in the year iOC6 one is des-
crlhed as presenting frightful aspect, ex-
hibi,ing an enormous curved tail, in the
form of a scythe. The appearance of the
comet of 1856 spread CONSERVATION in all
Europe. The same comet returned again
in ] 53l and 1917; and il is recorded that
in 1888, wonderful comet appeared,
which; b5 lis splendor and swif.ness, ex-
cited the deepest interest throughout the
world. Newton examined this remarkable
comet with great attention. and was led, by
the general laws of the thbtion OF bodies in
free space. as well as by his own parlicu-
lar observations, to conclude tina: the orbits
comets must, like those ef the planets, be
ellipsis, having the sun in one focus, but
far more excentric. and having their aphe-
lions, or greatest distance from the sun,
far remote IN the regions of space. The
idea thus thrown out by Newton. as also
the observations upon comets made by Ty-
cho Brahes were taken up by DR.. HALEY.
who collated the observations which had
been mad. touching the appearance and
asrect of comets from the primitive ayes
down to- his own time. and found that,
with bat few exceptions. they had passed
within less than the earth's shortest dis
lance from the sun, some Of them within
less han one third Of it and others about
one half. He examined with much care
the comet of 1859. and discovered won
deriul resemblance between it and the
comets Of 1856, / 53l and 1897, The time
Of .he appearance of the comets had been
al nearly regular intervals, the average pc
'iod being IS aud IS years Their dis
lance from The sun when in perihelion va
lied but liule from each other. The incli
nations Of their orbits to that uf the earth
had also been nearly the s,me-between
~ and 1 degrees; their motions had all
been retrograde. Putting these together
DR.. HALEY came 10 the conclusion that the
comets of 1856. 1881. 1907 and 1852 were
temperatures Of one and the same comet.
The variation in The time of lis revolution
around the sun, having been something
like fifteen months, was accounted for by
him upon the supposition that the form of
its orbit had been altered by the attraction
OF the remote planets, Jupi er and Saturn,
and passed near them: and thereupon pre-
dic'ed that It's next appearance would be
in tie year seventeen hundred and 6f,y
seven freight; and its actual re rppearane
in the beginning of 1859. according 10 his
prediction, established the fac, decisiyelv
that they were regular and permanent bod
les. obeying the general laws of natter
The only difficulty which remained in ar
irving at a greater degree of accuracy in
calculating the return Of comets was on &C
count Of the disturbance to which they are
exposed from the other bodies Of the solar
system. This was overcome, in a good
measure, after the death of Dr. HALEY. by
The calculations of D'Alambert, Encke and