Wilmington journal., 1874-07-10
THE COMET.
What the New York Herald KNOWS
About Comets.

What the New York Herald Knows
About Comets.
The Herald is evidently not much
in awe of the stranger in the heavens
that is just now attracting so much
attention. II says:
THE MYSTERY.
And what a tale this comet could
unfold if the Western Union Telegraph
could only make connection with her
by wire. After q thousand million
miles of travel what a fund of anec-
dote and story, after hairbreadth es-
capes in the Milky Way by the Great
Bear. the Pointers, the Lion, the
Pleiades and many others, and even
bv old Sol himself, the hot-blooded
old rascal, after enduring the jealousy
of Venus and the Moon, after running
perhaps over the Plough and dislo-
eating some Joints of her tail. After
all this and thousand other instances,
what a history she might relate And
then to think of the trackless end
silent yastnesses she must have pierced
where no friendly comet met her on
the way and all was utter darkness
and desolation. Perhaps in G moment
of reckless enterprise she entered
Boutwell's "hole in the sky" away
among the Southern stars, and not
finding Andrew Johnson there was
overwhelmed with the unutterable
loneliness of the locality. There are
publishers in New York who would
pay her handsomely for her expert
ences, and as for the theatrical man
ayers any one of them would feel his
fortune made by securing her for
star engagement. r she would extin-
guish the Dog Star Mr.. Bergh would
be willing to give two-thirds of his
princely income.
COMET THAT LOST HER TAIL.
Fncke's comet was celebrated for
having revealed, as many astronomers
think, the existence of resisting me-
dunn in the interplanetary spaces.
Herschei and others dissented from
this view and attributed the change in
the comets motion to the gradual loss
of her tail. She was of snowy and dis
sipated habits, but the loss of her tail
broke her heart and she was never al
forwards seen, and is supposed TO have
retired into private life. Biela's
comet was discovered in 1927. In
1876 the astute astronomers at Wash
ington noticed that this comet had
separat ed into two parts on account,
as the unastronomical people in Wash
ington concluded, of q difference in
politics, significant of Il large terres-
trial difference commonly called the
secession movement, which the same
people saw with their own eyes some
years later. The two parts Of the
separated comet pursued their way in
dependently and without aEy influence
on each other that could be detected
by the most accurate measurement.
Our terrestrial separation had qnite &
different result. As rule the sun has
no great love for comets. They have
acted toward him with IL degree of
IIPUDENT FAMILIARITY
to which one of his dignity was never
accustomed before. Donati's comet,
among the rest, moved with her tail
towards the sun and she was instantly
repelled. OF course this evident po-
larity leads to the conjecture that the
tail is electri city itself. Ii inhabitants
of this globe are sometimes led by the
nose comets are invariably led by the
tail.
FORM OF THE FAIL.
Bessel has computed the form of the
tail, allowing each particle to move
forward by inertia and by a repulsive
force from the sun inversely proper
toned to the square of the distance. -
The curve thus computed agrees well
with the observed forn of several
noted comets tails. Professor Pierce,
Of Harvard, was led by the comet of
1858 to the same calculations and re-
suits, and published them before he
was aware that he had been anticipated
by Ressel.
JUPITEk * L P.SSION.
The comet of 177O is interesting
from the great disturbance of Eor orbit
by Jupiter. She had been fooling
around the old man, revolving about
him until he got tired of the business
and threw her i.to the shorter orbit,
which was equivalent to telling her to
''get out She refused, and then he
threw Der out altogether. She has
never since been seen even by
the Washington Observatory.
THE NUMBER OF COMETS
altogether discovered from the earliest
times to the present is roughly esti-
mated at 1000. They are generally
discovered about 1000, 900, 900 miles
from the sun. OF comets that have
been noticed thirty passed between
the Sun and Mercury, forty-four be
tween Mercury and Venus, thirty-four
between Venus and the Earth, twenty
three between the Earth and Mars and
Civ 1atr
PUNCTUAL COMET.
Halley's comet was remarkably
pUnetual one. He predicted that she
would turn upagain in seventy-five
years after he discovered her. Great
interest was felt in his prediction. and
though he died before the time, q
peasant near Dresden discovered the
comet in precisely the time predicted
by HALEY. There is every reason to
believe that this comet had been in the
habit of paying regular visits to this
billiard ball. 1t was seen in England
1866, when it was regarded as the
forerunner of the victory Of William OF
Normandy. Perhaps the present comet
may be regarded by the Bourbon dem
ocracy as the harbinger of the triumph
two years from now OF the resolutions
of '9S.
For fear some persons may be ap-
prehensive about the results of the |
near approach of the comet we print
what high authority, Professor East
man, of the National Observatory at
says;
"The reports about the disasters
which will occur should the comets
tail come in contact with the earth are
purely sensational, since it is well
Known that stars as small as the ninth
have been distinctly obser-
7ed through the densest portion of the
nucleus of comets. No influence
whatever on the weather, tho eli
nate, or the health of the inhabi-
ants of onr planet from comets
las ever been determined. 1t is sur
,rising that intelligent men can in
lulge in such absurdities. I do not
believe that this comet, for instance,
n it's nearest approach to the earth,
Will have as much effect upon it's at
nosphere. in any quarter, as cyclone
r thunder-shower on our Atlantic
OaSt has upon the atmosDhere over