Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1874-07-05
THE COMING COMET.
a Dark Nights WOrk-A Midnight
vigil On the College Campus Rt
Princeton.

THE COMING COMET.
A Dark Nights Work-A Midnight
vigil Om the College Campus nj
princeton.
n. Y. Herald Correspondence.
PRINCETON, y. j., June l6.
As the Who'll" community, scientific
and unscienific. will be interested in
the appearance IF the new Coggia conf
ct next mouth, | have devoted this eve
! ming to this latest phenomenon, with
the firm conviction that if we are not
cng,lphcd in the fiery tail the ap-
proach of the heavenly visitor will he
greeted with general applause. first
called upon Professor Stephen Alex
ander, l.. l.. D.. the well-known as
tronomer of Princeton College. He
received me most cordially, answering
my ring i'll person and admitting me
without ceremony to his coZv study.
The worthy Doctor was evidently en-
gagged in preparing treatise upon
some subject. for The floor was strcwn
with pamphlets and notes. mentally
rongrat ulated myself upon finding
him burning the midnight oil. The
walls of the room were furnished with
shelving, containing several hundreds
of volumes of rare books, pamphlets
and manuscripts. Taken altogether.
the room was the very picture of Il
sane. um sanctOrum into which no one
but celestial correspondent would
have right to enter.
Taking nn observation.
No sooner had l explained the OBJ
Iject of my mission than the Doctor eN
pressed his willingness TO give me all
the assistance in his power. lie in
formed me that the observatory of the
I,,,,
that he had n glass of about three
inches aperture through which he
would take some observations. The
Doctor rose, and together we went into
the yard. The telescope. which was
too heavy to hold to the eve. was
rested upon a support which was found
already fixed up i'll the ward. At this
place Il clear, unobstruc;ed view of the
s northern parts of the heaven was had.
4 The telescope disclosed the comet. af-
t,r some little search, and glued my
+ eye TO the glass to drag that come.
from space.
- have not greatly intere stcd myself
Z in the comet toggia as vet said DR..
Alexander. because have preferred
to wait until it approaches Il little
nearer. 1t is coming earthward AT 4
rapid rate. and Ivy the n,it!dlc Of next
month ii will be Il brilliant object i'll
the northern heavens. learn that \.
4. inricr. of London. England. has
been m1kin- some careful eNalniia-
tionS of thiS comet through II Very
powerful glass. and thai several careful
calculations of the elements and cphe-
lnera have been made. lave watched
everything which has appeared upon
the subject. AMI | am inclined to be
lievc that Professor Louis Swift, of
l,,s ,rix 10 Il
scrip ion of its location as lla, yet been
pub!i>hc L.
How to Know II.
Where. then, in a general way, is
Co-gia To be looked for ?" asked
THE simplest direction. which is
very unScieniiiie. however, is to say
that it is located about midway between
the horizon and the Polar S.ar at one
III the morning. | see the Dipper and
the Great Bear mixed up with the ac
Z sEcounts of the comet. Now. decidedly
object to this. | do not give it as my
official opinion, for | have had little
chance to make anything like a careful
or accurate diagnosis of this latest case
f of celestial phenomenon hut am un-
der the impression that the come: is
located beyond the nose and head of
the Great Bear. The Dipper. as is well
known, is in tie tail of the Great Bear,
So that it i full V twice the lcngth OF the
handle of the Dipper from its nearest
point to the comet. The come, *,
have reason to believe, in the head Of
the Lynx, and III the early part of the
evening is to be found about thrty-five
degrees 10 the eastward of il cord falling
from the Polar star to the horizon. |
do not put it i'll the Canclopard. but in
the Lynx. This is, of course. giving it
III un>clentliiC language. but imagine
that II is the wish of the UcFaid To
point out the location of the comet
toggia so that all can find it,
4 Glimpse at CO-.ia.
This conversation occurred during a
y partial ob>cura;io ion of the sky bva thin
gauZelike cloud. After few minutes
the stars came out again and the comet
WAS tiu,allv captured. In the center OF
Il small part of the northern heavens,
which seems To have been sadly in
need of some bright ncbul;e. this stray
wandercr is to be found quietly NOV
4 ing on its way toward pcrchclion. 1t
has the appearance of Il star of the
4 fourth magnitude tiattcned ont To that
OF the fourth magnitude without in
crca>ing It's brilliancy. Tospeak more
by the card. it can be best described as
a Very bright spot of ncbul;e, ith a
ray something like that of the aurora
horcaliS, but more faint and very short,
proceeding from one side One can
look around the heavens any clear
night and see Il thousand or more bet
ter looking stars. As the Doctor had
SAID. ii did not appear i'll any way ne
cc'>arv to find il by means of the Dip
Ter. The Npper is useful for finding
the Polar star. but not at all essential
Tor comet. Such Il comet, too, aS
this, which can be ioked about for
more than Il month vet without any
imminent need of preparation for Il tu-
itlre state. AS | said, suppose it is
necessary for even comets to begin
small and develop into perfect comet
mood 10y slow gradationS, hut it does
strike me that if this individual only
Knew oi all the telescopes that are be-
ii- trained upon il ii would at once
show its hand or take the back
track.
Time Table for June.
Returning for few moments to the
I'oci"rs study he gave me he follow ing
"phcmera of this comet for the month
~ June. 1t is calculated in mean Her-
ilh time bva Frcnchman i'll London.
haincu \. {. Dunor. Why Greenwich
was not used, and why Berlin mean
tii," Was used | don't attempt To eN-
iiain. Suffice it To say that these cal
ruiationS are regarded by Dr. AieNan-
der, one of the acknowledged heads of
i science in this land, rs worthy OF the
4 utmost confidence.
June T. , midnirht......... 10 oa.t 3a4 Il Ol
Inms Inme - ,m,dnight.,...... 20 L do 81 ~ OF
= turft I, Il