The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1881-07-07
KIein's Comet.

me claim OF inc henJuCBlan TO DE tne HIst
discoverer of the prsfent met seems to lie
capable of thorough substantiatlon. Prof.
John NJ. Klein, astronomer, of Hartford, KY,
states positively that he fl at saw the comet
August %, 1880, and pc nted It out tn hls wife
aud 5, raj others, whom he names, ard who
are reliable living wtLe--es. 1t further APP
pears that Prof Klein's announcement OF the
comet was printed In the Louisville Courier .
Journal of Sunday, September D, 1850; and
again. L. October, The following notice OF
X ems comet appeared in the CUurier-Jour-
nal:
'John NJ Klein, Esq q scientist, who re.
eides at Har, ford, Ky. claims the honor o.
discovering the new comet recently seen ia
the heavens. Wiring to a friend IN this city
in regard to tn m natter, he says: Il first saw It
on the evening of august rs, and pointed II
out to my vile. Ne also called Mr. Il Griffin
and his wife to see it.. 1t shone with lustre
mot intense. anu had a beautiful fan-shaped
tail 1t :, first appeared southeast OF
ns sDa fy AVA. way around Tnd to the Sr
OF the milky way. The first appear,
ance OF the comet was very remarkable, and
it was q sight long to be meA bered by 'hs
Mr.. anu Mrs. CIR fiji L call I'd tha attention of
DR.. John L Pendleton and lady, Mr.. Charles
NJ. Pendieton, attorney at aw, and MI.
in the he yeas. We OBJ erved it upon The fol-
low ng uus: August 26, 20and 80, and Sep
TENDER 8, ga 10. / wrote 10 } GU in regard
to the matter September !, and AN account OF
Journal Sunday, September No as ron
omer hsd discovered II up TO this
time. 1t was tome thee weeks later
that some great astronomer in the east
announced to the worli that g had discovered
a comet By ref ring to the flts Of the Uuur-
Ter. journal ali this can ne suos'aniiated. l
claim the honor nf discovery in this instance
through the tail of this cou-t and that its
vapors go permeated cur atmosphere here as to
be the direct Cause Of the recen u 'precedented
rainfall all over the un'ry. believe 1T W s
the cause of the grt ut snow storm on the lakes
early in the fall indeed tie tail If the comet
msy have actually swept all over that por lon
canes can, l think, be accounted for II we ac
cept the above theory 49, pl
Now 1t appears that Prof. Klein has ke
track OF HIS Augu t. 1880, met ever since,
and says he knows The present northern sky
appari ion to be the SAME that he has been
Keeping his astronomical eye up n for nearly
year Prof Klein's letters of last year stated
that the comet would be visible to the naked
eye in June or July, 1881 and that
when it should disappear 1t would not be
seen again in seventy nine years, Since
these are facts that can and VIII be snbs,ann-
tlated by persons and papers, Prof.ss r
Kleip's OPT ions regarding the identity OF his
Q met are of some weisht. lie SAYS positively
that 1t il not the comet of 1872. but Ia the
comet of 1888, to which wae attribute the ter
rifle a mospheric distur bar Gas OF that year
1t looks as If Prof. Klein had won The dis
tinclion as the original discOverer of a new
comet, or the reappesrance OF an old visit r,
as may be hereafter demonstrated. The pro-
fessor made number of drawings of the
comet ~ he viewed 1t at different timss,
VIII oh Will be Of interest and value in lis
history. SO far as appears. the other as
tromomers knew nothing about 1t until 1t
swent into the vision of the naked eye, after
II had boen ten oreleven months "a nursing of
Klein's telescope.
"Honor tn whom honor is due" IL a good old
aphorism, which ought to be observed N celes-
tia as well as terrestrial affairs, and if the
Kentuckian's claims are proved up, as he
makes them, the pr sent nightly brilliant
phenomenon of the northern sky is "klein's
comet P"