Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1861-07-12
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G.. A. ADAMS. pnr-ops
G. y. H&PGOOD
WARREN, FRIDAY, JULY IL.
The Comet.

The celestial visiter which so uncxpcct-
cdly made its appearance in the heavens,
some two weeks since, is rapidly approach
ing the zenith. So far as our knowledge
extends, its appearance at this time had not
been predicted by astronomers, nor is it
certainly identified with any one which has
been seen before. it has evidently passed
its pcrihclion. and is now receding from
the sun, as its tail, which always points
from the sun, prcccdes its head; lin OF. or
words, it is now following its tail.) Bur.
ritt's Geography of the Heavens. says, 1.-The
luminous train Of a Genet usually toHous
Il, as it approaches the sun, and goes before
L, when the comet rcccdcs from the sun
sometimes the tail of a comet is considera-
bly, curved towards the region to which
the comet is tending
The appearance of the plIncts is glob-
ular, and their motion around the sun
nearly in the same plane (circular,) and
from west to east; but comets have a vari.
ely Of forms and their orbits are not con-
fined to any particular part Of the hcav-
ems; nor do they observe any one general
direction" The nature Of comets, es-
pccially of the tail, is a matter of great I'M
certainty. That they have but little gray
ity is certain, from the feet that when in
the vicinity Of planets, they arc drawn
aside from their courses, while the motion
Of the planets continues unchanged. The
comet of 1870, when first discovered. was
moving in an orbit Of o. years. 1t had
been revolving outside Of the orbit of Ju-
Iiter and his Satellites, and, (see the
same authOrity-Durritt,) actually got
cntangled among the Satellites Of Jupiter,
and thrown out of its orbit by the attrac-
ton Of that immense planet, disappeared
and has not been heard of since" Encke's
comet appeared in 1855, 1895, 1905 and
1918. The increasing length Of time be-
tween its visits, is attributed to the gradu.
al loss of its tail. Diela's comet appears
once in about ca years. 1t was discovered
at the National Observatory in Washing
ton on January -, lS46.-that the tail
Of this comet had divided, and that the
two parts pursued their way, independent
Of each other. The largest and most re-
markablc comet of which there is any rec
ord, is that which appeared in 1850. Phi
losophers Of that age describe it as reach
ing from the horizon to the zenith, and
having a tail ninety-six millions of miles
in length. Burritt says oft, lat its great
est distance, it is $4,000, 900, 600 of miles
from the sun; and at its nearest approach,
only 100000 miles from his surface, in
that part Of its orbit nearest the sun, it
flies with the swiftaess of 1000, 900 miles
in an hour, and is then exposed to a heat
$1,000 times greater than the solar heat at
the earth. This intensity of heat exceeds,
several thousand times, that of red hot
iron, and indeed all the degrees Of heat we
are able to produce. A simple mass of va
por exposed to a thousandth part of such
a heat, would at once be dissipatcd in space
"A pretty strong indication, that however
volatile are the elements of which comets
are composed, they are, nevertheless, capa-
bic of enduring an inconcciyablc intensity
Of heat and cold"