The Council Bluffs nonpareil. [volume] (Council Bluffs [Iowa]) 1857-1867, 1858-10-02
50 90 A YEAR, IN ADVANCE.
SEEKING FOR COMETS.

| Jhe great observatory at HarvardColege
was established in ls47. Among the many
brilliant discoveries made there since its es-
tablishment, are no less than fourteen coEl-
cts. Nine were discovered by the indefati-
gable labors of Mr. George p. Bond. The
tenth was discovered in March, 1858, by
Mr.. Charles w. Tuttle. The remaining
four by Mr.. Horace p. Tutile.
| Few persons are aware of the patience
and labor exercised by the astronomer in
making discoveries Of this kind. 1t re-
quires several years study and practice to
qualify one to discover telescope, comet.
1t is undoubtedly very easy to look at a
comet already visible to the naked eye in
the heavens; bat when it is required to dis
coTer an unknown one, wandering in its
| 'long travel of thousand years. in the
profound abyss of space, the labor then be-
comes truly prodigious. The amount Of
physical suffering occasioned by exposure to
all kinds of temperature, the bending and
! twisting of the body when examining near
the zenith, and the constant strain of the
eye, cannot be fully understood and appre-
ciated by one unacquainted with an as rono-
mer's life.
The astronomer, with his telescope, be-
! gins at the going down of the sun, and ex-
amlues, in zones, with the utmost care and
vigilance. the starry vault, and continues
till the ''circling hours" bring the sun to
the eastern horizon, when star and comet
fade from his view. 1t requires several
nights to complete a thorough survey of the
heavens; and often these nights do not fol-
| low in succession, being interrupted bv the
full moon, by clouds, auroras, and bv vari-
Gus other meteorological phenomena re
! is frequently vexed by passing clouds; aeet-
ing through the midnight SKY, and s,rong
and chilly breezes of the night. His lahore
are continued throughout the year, ana his
unwearied exertions do not slacken during
the long wintry nights, when the frozen par
tieles Of snow and ice, driven before the
northern blast, cause the stars to sparkle
with unusual lustre, and his breath to con-
geal on the eye-piece Of the telescope. 1t
frequently happens that his labors are not
crowned with discovery until after sever
al years search.
! Nothing can exceed the sublime specta-
Gle presented to the astronomer under a
clear midnight sky, as he sweeps athwart
the gorgeous consultations in their sstarry
dance around their appointed centre. Oc-
casionally the field of the telescope is filed
with the dazzling radiance of unnumbered
suns of variety Of rich and beautiful col
ors. The field Of the telescope is often IL
lumined by the sudden transit of far-oF
meteor, invisible to the naked eye. Some
times large one falls from the zenith. and
silently exploding, fills the midnight sky with
a startling spectral light. The solitude anu
silence of the night is broken, in spring.
summer and autumn, by the low, murmur-
ing voices of migrating birds, and the half
suppressed buaetiags Of their weary wings.
which darken for moment the field of the
telescope in their fight. These are the o.
! ly living companions of the astronomer uiioat
in the sky at midnight.
There is momentary excitement when his
wearied eve detects a small wisp of pa,c
| scattered light in the field of bis TELESCOPE.
1t is very comet-like, but he does not fee
quite sure that he is not tantalzed with 8
nebula-a cluster of suns-so remote as tc
defy the utmost power of assisted vision 10
resolve it into its individual eomponents.-
He Immediately aseertains the exact posi-
ton, and examlnesthe catalogues for infor-
nation of its character. Ii it is unrecorded
he is obliged to bring the wondrous mechan-
ism Of human hands to his assistance. The
sldereal clock, and the infinitely graduated
circles of his telescope, inform bun of his
right ascension and decinaton. Usually.
the distance of the unknown body is rigor-
ously measured by the micrometer-a work
of unsurpassed delicacv-from Il star in the
same field. At the end of several hours his
labors are rewarded by the discovery Of
new nobula, or the slow but decisive move
ment of a new comet. 1t is moment Of
intense feeling. 4 new globe has hove in
sight from the utmost bounds of human
vison. Whittier has it come: and whittier is
it going? What is its distance from the
earth and from the sun? When will it be
nearest to the earth and when to the SUM-
What is its velocity I'D! magnitude? VIII it
ever become visible to the naked eve: and
has it ever before appeared within the MEM
, ory of man, or on the records of history
These are questions that he cannot imme-
diatel y answer. His mind, aided by the
most powerful analysis, penetrates into the
secret workings of the Infinite Mind, and by
a mysterious process evolves the answers to
his queries.