The New York herald., 1874-07-08
COMETS AND METEORITES.

CUMEIS AND MEIEUk1IES.
Possible Danger to the Earth from the
Flaming Visitor in the Heavens-What
Might Become of Philadelphia-Profes-
Henry's DEMONSTRATING Theories.
WASHINGTON, July 7, 1874
Calling upon Professor Henry, Of the Smithsonian
Institution, for Information concerning the comet.
he said he had very little information to give upon
the subject In fact, the comet was not exactly in
his line. 1t more properly belongs to the National
Observatory. To the scientific world, however, in
all its departments. this comet is very interesting
visitor, as since the discovery Of the astonishing
powers of the spectroscope in disclosing the ele-
ments of the sun and his satellites and of those
other suns, the fixed stars, we have now
presented Us the first opportunity Of applying the
test of this delicate and infallible instrument to a
comet, and doubtless before the departure OF this
interesting stranger we shall get out OF him,
through the specrOscope, the secret OF what he is
and with that fact established we shall soon be
able to find out much more concerning him. See
1or instance, what, in conjunction with the
telescope the spectrosc0pe has done for US in
determining the elements OF the sun, 81 expect"
continued the Professor, every interesting results
from the application Of the spectroscopic analysis
to this comet"
IS THERE MISCHIEF IN THE CoMET3
"But you know Professor, from the time OF the
Pope's Bull against the comet the appearance OF
one OF those celestial strangers, or bushw hackers
has been by all nations and tribes OF men regarded
as sign and q warning OF war, pestilence or
famine, OF droughts or inundarions, of hurricanes
or earthquakes, and may there not be sOmethln 6
in this universal opinion?"
"Science asks for the demonstratlon.n
avery good. Has not every comet that has
appeared OF which We have any record been fol-
lowed Ii the year OF Its appearance. or within a
year or two from its departure, by some one OF
! these aforesaid disasters IN almost every nation
on the face OF the earth Y'
! ''Pernaps so; but II what does all this prove
Nothing. There is really, Sir, no mischief in these
brighten many people, but which harm nobody;
| but when you come to meteorftes or areolites, as
they freqnently called, there is possibility Of
disastrous Consequences. BY the way, have you
seen our splendid Arizona meteoriteY"
THE ARIZONA MgTEORiTE.
ayes, sir; we have Just been inspecting It, and
[ great curiosity 1t is; but how did you get itY"
The Professor said, in answer to this and nu-
Arizona; that 1t weighs l,4oo pounds and is COM
posed OF iron and nickel; that tradition says that
o ann al Of
meteorites lell in the Santa Catarina Mountains,
north of Tucson, and tnat there were plenty OF
them remaining in those mountains DR.. Irwin, O
surgeon OF our navy, to whom, and some other
gentlemen, the Smithsonian Institution is greatly
Indebted Tor this meteOrite, thinks that this shower
! OF meteOrites came from volcanic eruption; but
as other mete0rltes have fallen lar from the range
of any volcano in different parts of the world this
Arizona monster may be an intruder upon our
planet.
is in the shape OF very rough, jagged and un-
equal ring, very thick around two-thlrds OF the
circle, and quite thin for the other third. 1t looks
the form OF ring, and In the state of liquid
fire. and its rolgn and Jagged appearance,
pears too, as II it mad been the setting of stone
which had fallen cut. Perhaps 1t was, and the
fragments OF tue stone may have dropped out in
the original lifting OF the ring from the ground.
THE THEORY OF THE ASTEROIDS.
But what has tiis to do with the comet9 Much.
Comets are supposed to be planets or asteroids
In embryo. There are within our solar sys
tenn, and mostly between the Earth and Jupiter,
many asteroids )r little planets invisible to the
naked eye, and there are believed to be many in
visible with the ad OF the most powerful telescope
or comet seeker. 1t is believed that this shower
OF meteorites wai nothing less than the fragments
of one OF these little asteroids, which, coming
within the attrlctiye grasp Of the Earth was
mosphere took 1'e, and was brOken-when heated
to the condition u liquid iron-into the fragments
which formed tn, Arizona shower Of meteors.
Now, this CONT, light, gaseous transparent and
attenuated as / now appears, may harden ulti-
mately into small asterod, and III the course Of
time 1t may be drawn to the earth, as was this
asterod In Arizdna, and If its burning fragments
fall some @ great and IN oak
state great willbe the conhagration that Will I'M
mediately ensu.
THE LESSON OF THE COMET.
This Is the Lesson suggested by this great meteo-
rite OF the Smithsonian Museum IN connection with
this comet" he comet NAV now be ''tOo thin" to
do much misctef even should 1t strike the earth I;
but after awhie 1t may harden into q solid little
globe and we may never hear Of 1t again till 1t
strikes the eahh as shower OF meteOrltes, equal,
perhaps to million OF tons OF iron. nickel, copper
and volcanic ocks, more or less. How can we
reach any eNct estimate Of such things The
telescope Will hot serve US to calculate them, nor
win the spectrum anayze 1t. To arrive at their
exact element and proportions we must wait till
they come.
READrUL POSSIBILITIES.
But there nay be more immediate danger
than this rom this cnmet as an in
terloper beween the earth and the sun.
This comet obeys the laws OF gravita-
tion and possesses, apparently, q great attrac-
tive power. accordingly, In getting among these
invisible astepids, or 8roites, hanging along the
earth's orbit md inside 1t, 1t may draw wit hin the
eartn's attration and down upon the earth a
shower OF meeorites ana from their descent Phila-
delphia may,e covered with mountain OF iron
or Chicago my be SUNK In Lake Michigan or lett
high and dry 90 miles inland
Oppressed sith such reflections the narrator
called at the lationai Observatory this evening or
closer lookst the comet and for the latest nfor-
ments OF the''htte JOKER" There 1t was, evi-
GENTLY growig and spreading out its fan-likc tail
with all the ride OF "a peacock But large num-
ber OF visit0s, In the generaf opinion That the
comet diu nOt look as II he intended TO set the
Potomac Rter on fire nor II he couid do 1t II he
tried, "calutd our fears and we were calm" even
as the iearItd professors, who could see in this
strange d nedenly spparition nothing but - very
INFLUENCE OF THE SUN.
teiescotc view of Arcturus and Alpha Lyrae,
those splefiid fixed stars, satisfied US that like
our sun the had hight OF their own for, COM
pared Will the intensity of their light, that OF
Jupiter anf MS tour moons, all IN fun view this
evening" ws cold and dim. But even Jupiter was
brilliant ompared with the comet, though the
comet hsshe faculty of spreading itself before the
flln N