The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1874-07-23

Now, as to the tail Of the present
comet. il streams. according to Prof.
Parkhurst, 8, 600, 600 miles across space
like an enormous mantle of Brussels
lace. It resembles the Milky Way,
with more milk IN it-that is to say,
i is more condensed. It spreads like
fan, and IN that respest resembles the
comet Of 1911.
People ignorant of astronomy and lit
tie given TO the study Of the heavens,
except when they want to find out when
II is about to rain, have an idea that
the tail of q comet is like the tail of a
COW, whiskng around IN warm weather
when coming rather close to the sun,
moon and earth, and hanging down
straight and quickly when passing
through the milky way. II the tail of
this comet had anything like the solidi-
ty of cows tail and were to whisk
around ever so playfully at this moment
il would take the top of the north pole,
the Bunker Hill monument, and re-
leve the goddess of liberty from duty
on the summit of the capitol at Wash
ington.
Another erroneous idea, that must be
corrected. is that comets are a sort of
celestial maniacs or fanatical reformers.
bucking against the established order of
the universe and racing around space
to brighten conservatism and earn q
cheap notoriety. Prof. Chapman says
that a comet Is merely q collection of
small particles of matter, about the size
of meteorites, from an ounce to pound
in weight. His reason for this state
ment is that you can see the stars
through the matter radiating from the
comet, even close to the nucleus. He
even thinks you might see the star
through the nucleus, only that the light
of the nucleus destroys it. It would be
curious to observe an enormous cobble-
stone pavement a million miles long.
hung up in the sky ever so high, and
science levelling the sspectroscope on
the singular phenomenon. The tail of
the comet, according to the professor,
is little more than this, and perhaps he
is right, for is there not pathway OF
light through the sky ?" as the poets ex-
press it.
This viii hardly prove as beautiful OF
as large a comet as many that have pre-.
coded it. The one of 1911 was esteemed
/ by astronomers as a most magnificent
comet. Its nucleus was 400 and It's
/ head 112, 600 miles in diameter. Its tail
was q beautiful fan shape, extending
! 112, 900, 900 miles. It is tight to say
that among the numerous comets OBJ
! served up to the present time, either
with the naked eye or by means of tele
scopes, the majority are distinguished
by nebulosity surrounding the nu.
| cleUs, and great number, especially OF
the most brilliant ones, possess a lumin.
GUS train or tail.
The diversity of aspect viii perhaps
some day enable astronomers to class
comets into genera, species and varie-
ties, and viii doubtless facilitate the
| perfection of the theory of the phenom
ena which these bodies present, and
which is still so obscure. According to
| Prof. Spoor, of Rochester, comets are
controlled by the same specific law
which governs planets of the solar sys.
TEN. When in their orbits thousands
of millions of miles away from the sur
they move very slow in the arc of an
eclipse almost Unreasonable. The sur
being positive and they deeply negative,
1t begins to exert controlling influence
over them, and as that attraction in.
creases continually in proportion as the
! squares of the distance decrease, they
moves wifter and swifter until, as they
approach the sun, they sometimes fly
more than SOC, 600 miles per hour.
at their perihelion they are very neal
the sun, ard become highly positive
and hence are propelled back again into
fields of space with the same lightning
| speed they were attracted towards the
! great fountain of all motion. The rea,
son comets pass out of sight go rapidly
| after passing their perihe1ion is because
they move around the sun in orbit
much more elongated than that of the
earth, and when they cross the plane o.
| the orbit of the earth on their flight *
regions of space they are then moving
in one direction and the earth in an
other, and as the earth moves at the
rate of 6S, 900 miles an hour and tn,
comets at the rate of 1000, 600 miles al
hour, they seem to move much faster
as they soon disappear, while their mo
ton Is slower and slower till they ar
arrive at their aphelion point.
Prof. Chapman believes that there
was an attempt to use the spectroscop,
upon Donati's comet, and the lines were
believed to indicate carbon. But thu
use of the instrument was not yervweI
understood in those DAYS. However
with the experience we have since gained
not only in regard to the magnifcen
development of the instrument itself
but also in regard to the lines of tn,
various chemical elements, we are In al
immensely better position for observa
tions-that is, If the comet shines by ,
1 light of its own. If it merely reflects
the light of the sun we shall get a con
tinuous spectrum without lines at all
In recent interview Prof. Parkhurs
said, In reference to the comet of 1913
that in that year the MilIerites were il
a state of great excitement, as one o
their prophets had predicted that tn,
end of the world was at hand, and tn.
appearance of the great comet in tina
year seemed to justify all that they haC
said, and great many good and sensi
bic people who were not Milierites be
gan to be seriously alarmed. The come
of 1S4S was a most brilliant one. anC
was perfectly visible In the DAYTIME
You had only to hold up your hand Il
shield of the sun and the comet could
be plainly seen. Some of my friends
who felt little uneasy about these
matters came to me, knowing that I wa,
bit of an astronomer, to ask mt
whether thought the comet was really
going to strike the earth and d. stroy it
L was then serving my apprenticeship t.
q Ieweler in Portland, Me. I went on
of doors and made an observation of the
motion of the comet. did not observe
1T more than fifteen minutes and I hac
no instruments, but what I saw con
WINGED me that the comet would no
come near the earth. So I told nv
friends that they need not feel no more
anxiety on that account, for whatever
else might destroy the earth it certain
~ would not be the comet.
Vary the Feed of Swine.