Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1880-03-08
THE EVENING STAR.
The Great Comet of 1919.


PROF. PKIRCE's DESCRIPTION OF THK vlSrTANT
NOW SUPPOSED TO HAVE RETURNED
The following extract from Prof. Peirce's
lecture on comets and meteors contains de
Scription OF the wonderful comet OF 1913 OF
which Goulds comet is supposed to be reap
pearance:
About noon on the 9sth of February, 1913.
groups OF people In many OF the towns OF New
England, especially. In Portland Me-, collected
at the corners of the streets, gazing up towards
the sun. Protecting their eyes In the shadows
OF the houses they saw brilliant object close
TO the sun. Such marvellous spectacle had
never before been seen. thoughtful sea cap
tain, Mr.. Clarke. brought out HIS seNtant. and
repeatedly measured the distance OF the strange
object from the limb of the sun. The unique
rigid criticism, attest the accuracy OF the OBJ
server. In about week from this time Won
derfully brilliant tail Of comet was seen skirt
more than one-third Of the way round the sky.
1t was now tail with out head, as it was at
first head without tan; but they were members
Of the same comet.
1.-The best determination OF its path was &C.
complshed by the distinguished astronomer
Sears o: Walker AT its perihelion II passed.
nearer the sun than any known comet. with the
single exception Of that of 1850, computed by SIR
Isaac Newton, and in the discussion of which
in the Principal he preached the first approxi-
nation to the true theory of the cemetery tail.
These two comets approached so close II the
sun that it would seem quite possible that they
touched Its surface, or, at least swept in nearer
than the solar corona Ii would not have been
an absurd hypothesis that they were elected
nom the sun at the time OF penetration had il
not been for the fact thae the comet of 1850 was
seen on its way down to the sun, and for the
remarkable phenomenon which we are about
TO describe concerning the comet of 1S43 1t
may be claimed as not impossible hypothesis
that each OF these comets was at some former
time the product of a solar eruption in accord
once with Buffon"S theory of the origin of
comets. 1t would only involve force which
would double the greatest velocity given to the
solar field OF hydrogen.
- But a juster Interpretation of the phenome-
non, and one which avoids the necessity of an
extraVagant volcanic action, is to be found in
the relation between the comets and the me-
teors. 1t Is simply the splash of the falling me-
teorS. In about an hour and a half the comet
of 1S43, like that Of 1885, went round the sun
from one side to the other. What would have
become of the tail, which was reaching out
about O0,OO0,0O0 of miles from the sun to the
earth's orbit? There have been those who have
actually adopted the incredible, may say the
impossible, hypothesis that the tail rotated
through this immense circuit, developing Gen.
tr1fugal force which all the united powers of the
universe could not have sustained. No, The
comet practically left Its tail behind it, and
began TO grow new tail as it receded from
the sun.
''There were thus two tails nearly side by
side. The new tail was distinguished because
it commenced at the head of the comet whereas
the old deserted tail began without any head at
some distance from the nucleus, and extended
further from the sun than the new tail. That
such should be the phenomena of this comet
was suggested by geometer, without knowing
that it had been actually observed. 1t was as
vertable and honest a prediction as If it had
been made previous to the observation. A dou-
BILE tail was observed on the first four nights
after the comets appearance at MONDAY. The
visible separation of the two tails only lasted
for few days, because the earth passed almost
at once into the plane OF the comets orbit, so
that one tail eclipsed the other."-Boston Aduei--
t:el, March 4.