The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1858-11-25
The Comets Round of Travel.

Though much has already been published re-
garding our recent distinguished yisiter. Do
MATHS comet there are many who will be
interested in the following extracts from an
article in the London Times, suggested by the
calculations of astronomers, estimating the time
of this comets journey round the sun at 2,495
years. The Times says:
Modern science establishes that the rance
of our present visiter, though immensely wide
compared with our planetary proportions, is
| straitened indeed, compared with stellar dis.
tances. he has his tether in the attraction of
the sun, as we have. He can travel indeed, $50
times further from the sun than we can and
about II times further than Neptune, the most
distant and last discovered planet of our system
but even this does not carry him one-thousandth
part of the distance of the nearest fixed star
Let any one take half sheet Of note paper, and
marking a circle with a sixpence in one corner
OF II, describe therein our solar system. drawing
the orbits of the earth and the inferior planets
as small as he can by the aid of magnifying
glass. If the circumference of the sixpence
stands for the orbit of Neptune, then an oval
filling the page will fairly represent the orbit of
our comet; and if the paper be laid on the pave
ment, under the west door of st. Pauls. the
length of that edifice will inadequately represent
the distance Of the nearest fixed star That tbe.
comet should take more than 1000 years to
travel round the page of note paper as we have
supposed, is explained by its great diminution
| of speed as it recedes from the sun
. AT its perhelion, as we have seen it nova
lately, it has travelled l27 900 miles r.n bnnr
or more than twice as fast as the es.rtb Who's,
motion is about one thousand niles minute
AT its aphelion, however, or greatest distance
from the sun, the comet is a very slow body
sailing along as if doubtful whether to retnr,
at the rate of 4S0 miles an hour This is ONLY
eight times the speed of railway EXPRESS. Al
this place, even if the comet could wholly
! shake of the attraction of the sun. which Il
certainly could not, and were it to travel on.
ward III straight hne, the lapse of "A million
years would mud Il still travelling half way be.
tween our sun and the nearest fixed star Com
cts, then, can hardly be imagined visiters from,
| our system TO any other, from any Other tn
our own. There is every season to believe they
belong to us, and are only planets of a lighter
material, less settled construction, more eccep.
trio orbits, and somewhat more devious path.
than our own solid globe 1t is hardly possible
to look at them without seeing that they replen.
lsh and perhaps vivify, the subtle medium
through which they diffuse their bright products.
and which offers a certain resistance 90 their mo-
hon. As to danger of collision, Of blighting
shower, or pernicious bPoath, it is as nothing
compared with the thousand and one chances
on which mortal life depends. 1t ALWAYS hangs
on thread, and that thread is not weakened TO
the amount of one fibre by all the millions of
comets which a French philosopher calculates
to move III our system"