The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1881-06-30

Prof. NeWcom Counselling
People Not to Worry Nights.
Over 1t.

WAsHINGroN June IL \ slender
elderly gentleman called at the NAva
Observatory this morning, seeilingly IL
some anxiety.
This i, awful, said he TO one Of the
yoIng gentlemen.
What DO you mcan?" he was ask
etl.
Why. the morning paper says that
a new comet has be, n discovered. which
Is great in size. aud IL thirteen degrees
apparent distance from the sun. Is it
true?'
1T is quite likely"
But Prof Proctor said in one Of hi>
lectures that he should regard 1t as very
omlnOus for the earth it two comet
were discovered this year, and one has
already boen found by Prof. Swift at
i Rochester
i Prof. Simon Newcombs somewhat
! rigid mathematical features relaxed a.
he heard Of the timid man' 5 fears Yes.
he knew very well that the discovery OF
new comet would give alarm TO many
people, and did not wonder at the fear
expressed to day.
IF there ever was any greater non
sense than this idea of the END of the
world resulting from the discovery of
two comets. I-hove yet to hear of it, :
he said
But Proctor has been quotel by
some of the papers as having made
some such remark, was said
Il cannot think that Proctor ever
made any such remark, said Prof.
Newcomb. This fear Of comets is a
delusion | know, a. prevalent as it is
difficult to disabuse people of. Why,
no harm would come, probably from
running into any number of couiets.
Prof Newcomb added that he had
not yet received any information reia-
to the reported discovery Of the great
comet. and that the announcement Of
such discovery would be transmitted
to the Smithsonian Institution. and as
yet no report of that kind had been re
ceived there.
Gould we see the comet if II Is III
the position assigned to it By the pub
lished report this morning p the Pro
fessor was asked.
With the utmost gravity he said !:
You had better 60 and LOOK AT The sun
and see
Suppose it is on the other side OF
the sun ~
Then anybody anxious to see it might
get on the top Of Washington nonu-
ment, and look at the sun at sunset
with curved telescope
The mathematical Professor was
plainly joking.
Speaking seriously, he said of comets
that nobody could tell when tie earth
would be visited BY another great comet
like that gorgeous aud terrible heavenly
objects that was seen in 1888. The first
great comet with known orbit, that
astronomers predict will be visible to
the inhabitants Of the earth, will appear
In 1910.
A large comet is liable to appear at
any time?
Oh, yes
"If it true that the tail of comet
ever swept the earth Z"
1T is supposed that the earth passed
through the tail of the great comet that
appeared in the sixteenth century,
One Of Prof. Newcombs assistants
here said that the earth meets fifty mil
lion of comets, more or less, every year.
Almost all of them are ignited by the
rapid passage through our atmosphere,
anc become shooting stars. Now and
then one does not ignite, and strikes the
earth. These rre called meteorlc
stones, of which very large specimen
is in the Smithsonian institution. The
universe is full of them
The assistant added that it was held
by some astronomers that the result
which would follow shruld comet
strike the earth-a large comet-would
be resolve bodies at once by the concus
sion into clouds OF incandescent mist, or
gaseous matter. result which would
be so sudden aud Simultaneous that the
inhabitants Of the earth would never
know what had happened.
1t is probably fact, continued
the astronomer that the world Is
growing by the accretions OF these min
eral deposits from other worlds. There
is no question but that mineral matter,
ky or comet dust filters down through
our atmosphere, mixes with the aggre
gate. and increases the body of the
earth The weight in year is of course
inappreciable, but the effect In long
ages must be great.
But the most serious question il,
what is going to happen to the sun.
Our great organ Of light and heat Is
shrinking in volume, and heat Is maiu-
,ained by this shrinking. OF course,
this cannot go on forever. The sun
will at some time be eXtlngulshed.
The only way then to relight and re-
heat it, so to speak, would be for a
large body to strike the sun, dissolve it
into incan1eScent matter, out OF which
another universe would slowly evoIve.
"All these are contingencies many
ears off
well, yes. do not think anybody
now living need to pass any sleepless
nights on account Of them.
Nor on account Of the discovery of
the new cOmet
Nor on that account. = And here
the astronomer turned to his table and
instrument.