Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1857-05-26

THE BRORSES CONsI-It is rather singular
considering the number Cf ObSe -vatories we have
In this country, that so little attention has been
pad by any of them to the subject Of the comets
q shot period which have recently visited Us
dnd OF the one particularly OF a Ion. period, vet
looked Tor. with ninety degrees Of tail This
Last, whether il strikes the earth or not. would
'-ee desOlatin1 hurricane even if il only passed
ned- Us. The wind of cannon ball has been
known 20 kill a man What would be the effrc,
of gale blowing at the rate OF no OOO miles Am
hour, or eighty times faster than telegraph mes
Stge l. Transmitted. COr that the speed Of the
comet 81 l~l3) we leave to I've dste mined by that
class of calcuatOrs who have furnished the French
d.ib Aii-ci lcan press with profound estimates OF
tde dl5y nOthinIneSS Of the wandering orls In
y ceftainly Temar klbe that in all the
which have been published as vet with but two
e1csi.lons-one leading journal in Paris and
a icther in New NOEk-the fact that wind in mo-
non Is a destructive agent. Las been wholly i.ft
ont Of view. IL is proved that a comet is without
@-hsiOle density 20 Is air in its ordinary form
and In its daily action upon Us when not in mo-
h7h But II Is veFy dangerous article when il
sweeps along ct the rate Of one hundred miles an
houf, and when II acts uPpn vacuum it Is with
power strong enough to lift mountains
The comet OF which we are now speaking IS
rapldly departing from our systems, which il
visits once in five and half wears and il can vet
a. we shall presently explain.
IL was discovered by "a Danish astronomer OF the
h1nle q BTo- sen, al hel, in 1876. ID had a round
IN heDuIO5lty without any Indication Of either
IL
Iailon Of Pisces on the 18th Of February of that
Neu. The observations Were not az numerous az
oeSIfable, but from such calculations "a could be.
LIids by the ableSt astronOInsrs at the time its
h'At a'rlVdi Al perlheliOl was fixed as probable
ih September or November 1S5l. But though
anTi0usly sought for 10 was not then found This
CHcGmStance Induced the belief that lis period
had been incorrectly calculated The element,
Ui the elliptic curve we-e then substituted for
Ii">s OF the parabola, and they we-c aScert1ined
70 agree with the path in the heavens which this
comet had described. Its period was thea cor
rscted TO ten years, and the astronomer, who
ipok u Tor 10 accordingly detected il in its rgbt
hedT Arlcs- 10 was also seen at the Harvard OBJ
-eivatO:y. There was great anxiety felt 10 deter
hiine Tie remarkable form Of this comets orbit
which was aft hcted by 4 near approach TO Jupiter
'hd II II now gratired. Its Dimensions are well
d,certained. Its apheiiOn is acco ding to C. w
l,ue' oi NewbnryPost- beyond the orbit of Ju-
piter ino-e than 3, ,WD, ,O0J miles A. its perihe
IOn IL was just within the orbit Of Vrnns. lis
~~Dcsntric motion IL mostly in Tight ascension
tts distance on the celestial equator In an trr
~ direction from the meridian PASSING thcouob
- vrInal equino1,) being about dfteen minutes
daily r-OLn wcSt To east.
Od the oih instant il was nearest the earth. or
twenty millions Of miles distant though inyisi-
Die to the naked eve, and rapidly receding. But
t4o<r persons who have a telescODe-One OF A low
P"Wef VIII do very well-rnav be able to see il
U-iofe u disappears. IL is now in the conStella-
uoH 81 the Great Bear, (UTSa Major.) 1t was
dp'lt twelve days since seen midway between
pIlIc'oh and Pi, twO of the eightY-Seven sta.s
OeIoiSlng to this constellation. aad which with
C'heI stars, a. our readers well know take their
H4h@s rom the Greek alphabet. When their
lrI exceeds that Of the Letters Of this al phabet
~" NJ Roman al phabat II used, and when this
NVAA4uSted numbers a-e TesOrted TO.