The Wichita city eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1872-1883, 1874-07-09
The Comet.

Once more we have one OF those Pc
culiar luniuaries called comets ca
vorting about in the vast and unlimit-
ed space which surrounds the earth.
The magnitude of this new candidate
for notice, among the heavenly bodies,
we are not prepared to give; yet We
presume it is quite large enough, COM
ing with the rapidity with which it is
said to be travelling, to smash old earth
into eternal smithereens, should it get
fair pull at her. A few days ago it
was not visible to the naked eye, and
could only be seen through the most
powerful telescopes. Now it can be
seen with the naked eye.
Accompanying diagram printed in
a recent number of the Chicago Jri6-
une, Prof. Colbert, a Chicago astronO-
mer, publishes over his own signature
very excellent and extremely inter-
esting disquisition on comets, and par
ticularly refers to this one. He says
that the spheroidal rays which form
the head or nucleus of this comet, as
small rs it appears in the heavens, is
about 10000 miles in diameter, and its
volume about sixteen times that of the
earth. The envelope streams away
from it to a distance of fully 1000, 900
miles, forming the tail, which is pro-
jccted from the comet in a direction
opposite to that of the sun.
The comet is evidently developing q
double tail, as shown by the streak of
greater brightness which lies a little
within the boundary Of the appendage.
This extra luminosity proves that the
tail is shaped like hollow cone, and
is not solid. He says in placing the
comet, on Tuesday evening. 23d inst,
the comets distance from the sun was
Sc, OOO, 900 miles, and from the earth
81, 900. 900 miles. II is travelling at the
ra.e of thirty miles per second.
The fact that comets contain but
small quantities of matter, as compared
with the earth and the larger planets
of the solar system, is proven by the
fact that the comet does not change
the orbit of the planet when in such n
position that the planet does cause a
great change in the direction of the
comets path.
A globe of hydrogen gas, which is
the lightest gas known to us (if we eX-
cept the hypothetical Abaron), if equal
in bulk to the earth and of the same
density as that at which the gas is
measured at the earth's surface, would
contain one part in 81, 900 Of the guam
tity of matter contained in the earth.
Now we can scarcely conceive it as
possible that density one hundred
times less than that of hydrogen gas
at the earth's surface would permit the
reflection of the sunlight to our eyes
from a distance of 5O,O00,0OO miles.
Yet even this stretch of the imagina-
ton towards the limits of tangible
tenuity would give, for globe the
size of Coggai's comet, a mass which
would weigh not less than 10000, 000,-
O00, 100000 tons, if it could be brought
down to the earth's surface. This
compares with the mass of the moon,
as to 500; with the earth, as / to
10000: and with the sun as to 1884,
OOO, 100000. 1t is not improbable, how
ever, that the mass of the comet is
much greater than this quantity, SO
that it would compare favOrably with
the largest Of the planetOids revolving
between the orbits of Mars and Jupi-
ter. That largest planetoid is exceed
ed $50 times in volume by the moon !;
and if its density should be the same
as that of the moon, then its mass
would be equal to that OF the comet,
if the latter had an average density
sixteen times less than that of hydro
gen at the earth's surface.