Morning journal and courier., 1881-06-29
The Comet.


 Stated with a view to popular apprehen- sion the main facts relating to the comet of 1881 may be thus given. It was, according to present information, discovered by Cruls, Brazilian astronomer, on May %, 1881, and announcement of it's elements was officially made in Brazil June and sent by cable dispatch from the Emperor to the French Academy In later progress it passed nearly in line between the earth and the sun, in which position it was eight or ten days ago. It is this peculiarity of it's motion which has rendered it's discovery so difficult, although it has really been in our sky for more than 8 month It did not rise until after sunrise, and it set every afternoon before the sun did, so it was hidden from view. AS soon, how ever, as it got north of the sun it began to rise 8 little before the sun and to set a little after. Its nearest approach to the earth was on June 23, when it was 28, 900, ,000 miles away. On the 26th-Sunday last-it was 31, 800, GOO miles off, and on Thursday next it will be 37, 500, 900 miles distant. Its course isnearly towards the pole of the earth as that pole ex- tends into infinite space; in other words, Tn it's passage from it's present position out Of sight 1t will pass almost into range With the north star. Its rate of motion IS something terrific, or as much as twenty-hv miles per second or 1, 800 miles per minute. The swift est express train seldom goes more than a mile in minute. It may be consohng to the nervous to know that we were at worst more than %, ,OoO 900 miles within the line of safe- ty. Several comets of record have come nearer to us than this. Comets are very ordinary matter in our solar system. Sir Isaac Newton said that there were "as many in our solar system as there are nsn III the sea- Six were observed at Cambridge last year. and four of them carefully calcuIa- ted These were quite small and these smaller ones are more interesting to the as- tronomer, since the return is quicker, and re- peated observations of them may be taken as they successively go through ther orbits. The size of the nucleus of the comet of 1881 is less than 1000 miles in diameter It's head or coma is about 10, GOO miles in dlam- eter Its tail is more than 10000, GOO miles long. and the spread of the tail at its outer extremity is ,nore than 1 1,0OO, 900 miles But slight spectr oscopic observations have been made at Cambridge. and these did not dis close any lines of light, but gave a cont1nu- ous spectrum, or, in other words, indicated that the nucleus is a solid or liquid, and not a gaseous body Attention has mainly been given at Cambridge to measurements by the nhotometer to determine the relative bril- liancy of the several parts. At other Ameri- can observatories attention is given specially to the spectroscope and at others in photo graphing the phenomenon.
 Results of Observations at tho Dodley
 
 [Fr m the New York Herald.l
 ALBANY, N. Y, June 27.-From the Dud- ley Observatory at half-past 1 o'clock this morning the sight presented by the comet is said to have been one never to be forgotten. The comet stretched out across the heavens nearly forty degrees and the tail spread out into two well defined branches, enveloping the North star in flood of milky light. The eastward branch ran up, passing about two and half degrees east of the North star and shooting up toward the zenith. This stretch was followed for fully forty degrees Then the other branch shot up on the west for at least thirty five degrees, being about five de grees astrononic fly southwest of the Polar star As seen through the thirteen inch re- tractor the general appearance was that of a broad fan of ostrich plunes, the handle be- 1 ing directed away from the sun This han de is represented by the nucleus, which is seven seconds in diameter. If we suppose the distance of the comet from the earth to be fl, ,0OO, GOO miles, which is presumably near 1 the truth, the diameter of the nucleus would be l 800 miles-in other words, three quar- ters the size of that of the moon. The coma, or bright envelope which surrounds the nucleus in semicircular form, Is eighty seconds in diameter. This is that part of the head of the comet which seen by the naked