Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-06-25
MORE ABOUT TIE coMEr.

| The RECORD UNION was the first paper or
| the Pacific coast to announce that the comet
could be seen from this latitude. and to give
its hour of rising and location. Possibly it
was the first in the United States to announce
it, as no dispatches regarding its appearance
| preceded the statement in this paper. By
the way. Professor Davidson says this comet
| has no business here it was not expected
| is an uninvited guest, and generally is
an estray. An 9changs says this is posi-
| bly the comet discovered by Professor Lewis
Swift, May LIST. This comet was computed
| by astronomers to be approaching the earth.
BY their calculations the nearest point to the
earth was to be reached on May Goth. On
May 1st, the date of discovery, the comet
presented the appearance of faint round
disc, less than l in diameter. with some CEN
trail condensation and ill-defned edges. On
the both of May the brightness should have
been three times that at the time of discov-
cry. The orbits did not resemble that of any
known comet. This comet is described in
Science to be bright comet in right ascen-
sion Oh. 0m,, declination 81 north, aud to
rise little before the sun and move slowly
southwark. 1t is added
II the present monster should prove to be that OF
Swift it is nearly month behind hand or has been
kept out of sight by the sun. The thsory IS ad-
vaneed that the comet has been detected from its
true course by the great planetary conjunction, and
has thus been cratic Whether 1t is In reality APP
preaching the sun the earth cannot yet be aseer
tanned. Again, another theory IS advanced, ana
that the most awe-inspiring of all, that Encke's
comet has been fastened in its rush through space
by the attraction # the conioined planets and has
had its orbit considerably lessened This comet has
been the source of much speculation and several
ffinfip gf
ror into the hearts of mankind
1t is believed that those who saw the celes-
tial vault early this morning looked upon one
of the grandest sights vouchsafed. the eyes of
man, to wit the moon, Venus and Mercury
nearly in line with the earth, and an IN
known and mysterious comet blazing almost
in the same line las appears to the eye).
Prof. Proctor in speaking of the comet of
1880, visible in Australia, says:
Views respecting it, not by anciiul theorizers but
by mathematicians of eminsnee by no means prone
to adopt wild aud startling ideas, suggest the pos
sibility nay even degree of probability, that
this comet may bring danger to the solar system.
Like the comet of 1S40 it passed within about 1907
900 miles from the solar surface, and path very
similar to that pursued by the comet of 1913 while
in the neighborhood OF the sun. The comet OF 1850
is in fact identical with that of 1885, but its period
is diminishing rapidly, so that at an early date it
fnay fall into the sun with this alarming immediate
resultant all llgIer OF least,
be destroyed off the surface of the earth.
Without saying that | consider there is absolute
danger o! such an outbuTst in the case of our own
sun when the comet OF 1913 shall be absorbed by
him "a result which will in my opinion, most GER
tainly take place., will go TAR to express my
belief that ii ever the day is to come when the
heavens shall dissolve with fervent heat the cause
of the catastrophe will be the downfa of some great
comet on the sun. IL is certain
that if at any time a great comet falling
directly upon the sun, should by the swift
rush of its meteoric componencs, excite the flame
OF the to luster lar Xceeding that with which
he at present shines, the sudden access Of luster
and Of heat viii prove destructive to every living
creature, at any rate to all the higher forms Of
life upon this earth And though in a few days the
gun might resume his ordinary luster and no longer
glow with abnormal heat, he would pour his rays
on family of worlds in which not one OF the
higher forms either Of vegetable animal life
would remain in existence. Such, indeed,
the nature of the change which effected the
called % new star in the Northern Crown in 1896
For day or two it shone out with several hundred
times its usual uster, and doubtless poured forth
during those few days several hundred times its
usual heat Then gradually its fires cooled, its
ulster diminished, and after few weeks had
passed it shone it had shone before for hundreds
Of years, with the luster OF ninth magnitude star
only.
1t is to be added thatmany hold TO the theory
that the comet of to-day is Encke's, which
was discovered in 1878 and corresponded to
the comet Of 1905. Encke found its orbit to
be three years and four months, aud its per
heli0n within the orbit of Mercury and its
aphelion between the Asteroids and the orbit
Of Jupiter. It is described as invisible to the
naked eye, except in very favorable circum-
stances. It has no tail at times, and has
motion like that of the planets from west to
east. A comparison Of the several periods of
this interesting object has led to the discovery
that its time of revolution is gradually dimin-
ishing, fact regarded by Encke aud other
as indicative of the existence of
an ethereal medium. The foundation for the
theory that the present is Encke's comet is
that the conjunction of the planets has had
an influence upon the comet, and hence its
sudden appearance.
The CAL says that Professor Hanks Of San
Francisco believes that the tail of this comet
is being driven from the sun. which would
seem to point to the fact that the comet had
made its nearest approach to the sun, and was
now speeding away This. however, is but a
-ough conjecture, unassisted by accurate
observation.