Cooper's Clarksburg register. [volume] (Clarksburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1851-1861, 1858-10-22
PERIODICAL RETURN OFCOMETS,
AND THEIR RINFLUENCE.


SD.THEIR RINFLUENCE.
The periods of comets; in their revolu.
tions around the sun exhibit a wide di.
VerSity. Encke's comet, which has the
shortest known period. completes its rev.
oluIion in l.158 days. or l-3 years;
and it is remarkable that each period is
two days longer than the preceeding.-
The comet oi 1911 is estimated 10 have
period OF no less than 383 years.
Biela'S comet has been seen many times
and its orbit accurately calculated; its
time of revulIion is about six years and
eight months. But the most celebrated
10 that known as Halley's comet. whose
period Of revolution is about seventy. i've
or six years. AnIecedenIly to 1.-THE ff-
Ieenth century We possess no other eyi~
denee of the identity Of these bodies ex>
cePt the record Of their appearance at the
times at which VIC know. from their as
eertained periods. they ought 10 have ap
peared. Adopting this test Of identity,
We have the appearance Of HaIIe's comet
in the year 323. and again III 399. when
II was described as a comet of prodigious
mHgnItude. The next recorded appearance
OF comet agreeing with the ascertained
period marks the taking Of Rome by To.
lila in the year $50. After completing
five revolutions. it was again seen in $50;
and it again appeared in zoos. on its next
return. Three revolutions would now
seem to have passed unrecorded, when
the comet makes its appearance once
more in the year 1880 Its next visit
WAS in 1905. when a comet is recorded
OF remarkable appearance; and il WAS
the first appearance at which observations
were taken. possessing sufficient accura
Cy-IU.eunufs- subsequent. t-.in~eeNi.s sA,"rs-tn
determine the path III the comet; and this
il accordingly the 6rs comet tie fenury
Of which with the comet uf HALEY can b..
said To be 7cnnciu>i:"ly established. In
the year l456 comet is stated to have
appeared OF ''unheard Of m4guitude:"
it WAS accompanied by a tail which tx
tended over sixty degreess. or one. third
OF the visible heavens. and continued to
be seen through a. e whole month 0 June
Ii was regarded by many as the celestial
indication of the rapid success of Nah
moud the Second. who had taken Con
stsntinople and struck terror into the
whole Christian world. Pope Calxtus
Ill. leveled the Ihuaders .ofEIhe church
against the enemies Of his faith Sterrestri-
81 and celestial. aud in the same, bull ex.
orcised the Turks aud the comet: aud in
order that the memory of this mani
festatiou Of his power shouldbe forever
preserved, he ordained that the be lis
Of all the churches should be rung at mid
day-a custom which is preserved in those
countries to our times. 1t must be &C.
Inowledged. hover. that. notwiIhstand-
ing the terrors Of the church, the comet
pursued its course without ATTY deviation,
and gradually disappeared in the distance.
returning with its accustomed regularity
in the year 1881, when it was carefully OBJ
served by Pierre Appian. These obser-
vations were sufficiently exact to enable
HALEY TO identity this C met, bevond the
shadow Of a doubt, with that observed
by himself in 1863. In the mean time.
it had been seen on its return 20 1906 and
1907 by the celebrated KepIer. In 1862
practical astronomy had n.ade considera
BILE advances. and this comet was careful.
ly observed at Paris. Danlzic. PAdua.
and in England. Shortly after this. tlal-
Icy undertook to make a table Of those
comets which had appeared previous to
his day, with a view to discover whether
any. and which of them. appeared to fol-
low the same path. Antecedently to the
year 1900. 495 Of these bodies had been
recorded in history; but those which had
appeared before the fouItes esnth century
had not been submitted to any observa>
tious by which their paths could be ascer-
Lained with a sufficient degree of precision
to identify them with those of other com
cts. Subsequently 10 the year 1900.
however. Haley found twenty four c~n-
cts on which observations had been made
and recorded. with degree Of precision
sufficient to enable him to calculate The
actual paths which those bodies followed
while they were visible. On comparing
Gheir paths. he found that the paths Of the
comets OF I 1534aud-f6O 6O6-were-very near
ly identical. aud shat they we're in fact
the same as the path followed by The conn
ct observed by himself in 1859. He
therefore was the first to announce the
identity of these several comets, and pre-
dicted the temperance of this celestial
visitor in 1853 or 1859. AS this period
approached. all the astronomers of the
civilized world were on the alert. and
were grati6ed by the fulfIment of the pre-
diclion. the comet being 6rst seen ou the
night Of Christmas day. 1853. fireman
ed visible for several months, passing Us
perihelion on the 18th Of March, 1853 =
The orbit of this comet had now been
calculated with such accuracy that it's re :
turn to its perihelion was confidently pre-
dieted to take place 10 November, 1885.
Mons. Damoiseau fixed on the 4th of the