Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1869-05-25
Return of a Comet,

The London Daily Nelcs of April q says ::
ssDuring the last few weeks astronomers have
been on the lookout for the return of one of
those periodical comets which form, so to
speak, part of the solar family. The brill
liant comets which come to US from out the
depths of space, and after blazing in our skies
for greater or less interval, pass away again
into those same untathomed abysses, are, by
comparison, mere occasional visitors But
there is set of small comets which regularly,
and at short intervals return to our neighbor-
hood aud the one we are now dealing with
belongs to this class.
News has just come from foreign observa-
tory that the wanderer has been discovered
lie is now traversing the unconspicuous con-
stellation of the Hunting Dogs; but is as yet
far too faint to be seen without powerful tele-
scope. Even the possessor ofsuch telescope
would find it difficult to discover the comst
were not its place accurately indicated, since
in the ne:ghborhood of its path the mysterious
nebuloe are spread with unusual profusion.
The comet which has just returned is ccm-
monty called Winnecke's comet, having been
discovered by that astronomer in 1858. 1t
must not be conlounded, however, with comet
of the same name which returned last year
The latter was one of much longer period,
and quite different in character. The present
one travels once in Eve aud half years round
the sun, 1t was described in 1858 as having
at first ''the appearance of an underlined
nebule, the light most intense in the centre,
but no true nucleus to be seen :" later we'll
marked nucleus made its appearance.
SIT must have returned in 1868, but was
not then favorably placed for observation
Indeed, little consideration will show that
comet travelling in period Of five and a half
years can only be we'll seen at alternate re-
turns. If at one visit it is well placed in the
nocturnal sky, at the next the half year differ
enee 1::"sa :s i o tle di.rnal =ay and of course
the light of the sun blots out so faint an object,
even when the most powerful telescope is
made use Of In this matter of its period
Winnecke's comet is not singular. More than
half of the comets of short period take about
FIVE years and half in the performance of
their circuit around the sun. The crcum>
stance is we'll worthy of notice, and has n very
interesting Interpretation. 1t arises from the
strange way in which the short period comets
have been twisted into our neighborhood by
the planet Jupiter.
This moDstrous fellow goes on his rounds
like gigantic policeman, and takes up comet
after comet, which but for him would have
passed far away from the neighborhood of the
sun. Sir John Herschel has related in lively
terms how Jupiter il-treated Lcxells comet,
first twisting it into the solar system, suffering
it to 60 twice round the sun, and then uncer-
enormously twistingi it out again, 80 that astron-
omers have never seen it since. That was
precisely the sort of treatment wa:iehit gives
to comet of five and half year period or
thereabout5. For comet which has thus
been forced into the solar system must necos-
sarily have the most distant part of its path
just outside the orbit of Mercury, and that
being so, the laws of planetary motion tell US
its period must be about five and half years
The worst of the matter is, that with an orbit
so placed comet is always apt to be sent
again upon its travels by Jupiter. If ho
happen to be near at hand, when the comet
returns to the neighborhood of his orbit, he
will twist it out of its path as easily as the
G:eeea GG.eat Eastern would tow cock boat In
fact, the way in which ! Jt@@riter treats the COS
mical clouds which We call comets merits ior
him the title of "cloud compeller," which
Homer gave to the Jupiter of Mount Olym-
pus.
"Altogether, we may congratulate ourselves
on the safe return of the wanderer now visit
ing our skies. For it has happened. quite
recently, that our astronomers have searched
long and fruitlessly for one of the same family.
We refer to the famous comet named after
Biela the failure in that case being peculiarly
provoking because the comet had presented
the strange spectacle of perfect division into
two distinct parts, and astronomers were nat
urally anxious to know what might be the re-
suits ofthis operation, after complete revolu-
tion of the twin system. The present comet,
though not quite so remarkable an object, will
doubtless attract great deal of attention.