Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1880-03-18
THE E COMET OF '4s.
Pierce's Description of the Wis
liant Now Supposed TO
Have Returned.
Boston Advertiser, March Ith.l

~ 1AaANA ENual
The following extract from Prof
Pierce's lectureon comets and meteors
contains a description of the wonder.
full comet Of l843, Of which Gould:
comet is supposed to be a reappear-
ance:
About noon, on the 18th of Feb
ruary, 1913, groups of people in many
of the towns Of New England. espec.
tally in Portland, Maine, collected at
the corners of the streets, gazing up
toward the sun. Protecting their eyes
in the shadows of the house. they
saw a brilliant object close to the sun.
Such a marvellous spectacle had never
before been seen. A thoughtful sea
captain, Mr.. Clarke, brought out his
s%extant, and repeatedly measured the
distance OF the strange object from the
limb ofthesun. These unique Observa-
tons are on record, and submitted to
rigid criticism, attest the accuracy of
the observer. In about a week from
this time wonderfully brilliant tail of
a comet was seer skirting the horizon
soon after sunset, and reaching more
than one-third Of the way round the
sky. 1t was now a tail without a head,
as 1t was at first head without tail but
they were members of the same comet.
The best determination of its path
was accomplished by the distinguished
astronomer, Sears o. walker. At its
periheliOn it passed nearer the sun
than any known comet, withthe single
exception of that of 1880. computed
by Sir Isaac Newton, and in the dis
cussions of which in the Principia he
preached the first approximation to
the true theory of the cometary tail.
These two comets approached so close
to the sun that it would seem quite
possible that they touched its surface.
or, at least, swept in nearer than the
solar corona. 1t would not have been
an absurd hypothesis that they were
elected from the sun at the time of
penetration, had it not been for the
fact that the comet of 1880 was seen
on its way down to the sun, and for
the remarkable phenomenon which we
are about to describe concerning the
comet Of l843. 1t may be claimed
as a not impossible hypothesis that
each OF these comets was at some for
.er time the product ola solar erup.
ion in accordance with Buttons theo
ries Of the origin of comets. 1t would
only involve a force which would
the greatest velocity given tn
solar field of hydrogen. But a
ulster Interpretation of the phenom-
'nom, and one which avoids the neces-
'ity Of an extravagant volcanic action.
$ to be found in tbs relation between
he comets and the meteors. IL is
the splash of the falling
neteOrs. In about an hour and a half
he comet Of 1913, like that of 1860
vent round the sun from one side to
he other. What would have become
the tail, which was reaching ont
about 1OO,OOO,000 of miles from the
sun to the earth's orbit? There have
3een those who have actually adopted
b eincredible, | may say the impossible
hypothesis that the tail rotated through
his immense circuit, developing a
centrifugal force which ali the
united of the universe could
not have sustained. No! The comet
practically left it's tail behind it, and
began to grow a new tail as it receded
from the sun. There were thus two
,alls nearly side by side. The new
TAIL was distinguished because it COM
nenced at the head of the comet.
whereas the old deserted tail began
without any head at some distance
from the nucleus, aud extended fur
from the sun than the new tail.
That such should be the phenomena
this comet was suggested by a geom-
eter, without knowing that il had
been actually observed. 1t was as YER
and honest a prediction as if it
had been made previous to the obser-
A double tail was observed
On the first four nights of the comets
appearance at MONDAY. The visible
separation of the two tails only lasted
Tor a few days, because the earth
almost at once into the plane
the comets orbit, so that one tail
eclipsed the other.