Northern Ohio journal. [volume] (Painesville, Ohio) 1872-1896, 1880-03-20
The Great Comet of l843.

The following extract from Professor
Peirce's lecture on comets and meteors
contains description of the wonderful
comet of 1913, of which Gould's comet
is supposed to be reappearance:
"About noon on the 28th of Febru-
ary, 1S45, groups of people in many of
the towns of New England, especially
in Portland, Me-, collected at the cor
ners of the streets, gazing up toward
the sun. Protecting their eyes in the
shadows of the houses, they saw a bril-
liant object close to the sun. Such a
marvellous spectacle had never before
been seen. A thoughtful sea Captain,
Mr.. Clarke. brought out his sextant,
and repeatedly measured the distance
of the strange object from the limb of
the sun. These unique observations
are on record, and, submitted to rigid
criticism, attest the accuracy of the OBJ
server. In about a week from this time
a wonderfully brilliant tail of a comet
was seen skirting the horizon soon
after sunset, and reaching more than
one-third of the way round the sky. It
was now tail without head, as it
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 as
tronomer, Sears o. Walker. At its
perihelion it passed nearer the sun than
any known comet, with the single ex-
ception of that of 1880, computed by
Sir Isaac Newton, and in the discussion
of which in the Priascipia he broached
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. It
would not have been an absurd bypoth-
esis that they were elected from the sun
at the time of penetration, had it not
been for the fact that the comet of 1850
was seen on its way down to the sun,
and for the remarkable phenomenon
which we are about to describe concern
ing the comet of 1913. 1t may be
claimed as not impossible hypothesis
that each of these comets was at some
former time the product of solar erup-
ton in accordance with Button 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 juster inter
probation of the phenomenon, and one
which avoids the necessity of an ex
travagant volcanic action, is to be
| found in the relation between the com.
cts and the meteors. It is simply the
splash of the falling meteors. In about
an hour and half the comet of 1843
like that of 1880, went round the SUI
from one side to the other. Wha
would have become of the tail, which
was reaching out about 100, 900, 900 O
miles from the sun to the earth's orbit
There have been those who have actu
ally adopted the Incredible, may say
the impossible, hypothesis that the tai
rotated through this immense circuit
developing centrifugal force which
all the united powers of the universe
could not have sustained. No! tn
comet practically left its tail behind it
and began to grow new tail as it re
ceded from the sun. There were thu
two tails nearly side by side. The nev
tail was distinguished because it com
menced at the head of the comet
whereas the old deserted tail begal
without any head at some distanc
from the nucleus, and extended furthe
from the sun than the new tail. Tha
such should be the phenomena of thi
comet was suggested by a geometer
WItnoub hHoWiHS tHdo IL Adu oeoA de1u
ally observed. 1t was as veritable AM
honest prediction as if it had bee
made previous to the observation. !
double tail was observed on the frs
four nights after the comets appear
apce at MONDAY. The visible separa
ton of the two tails only lasted for
few days, because the earth passed a
most at once into the plane of the con
cts orbit so th of one tail ac1insod fh
other.-Bostos advertiser, March 4.
WHEN young lady tripped into
| music store the other day and asked th