Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1881-01-08

Something About These Erratic
Visitors.
New York Times.l

New York Times
Eightet huIoNd and eighty was an excep
tfonally good year for comets Some 200 OF
these cratic nebulp have been seen In this
century; so that those seen In 1850 were more
than a fair allowance for several ordinary
years Early In February ProfS Gould, OF
CoIdOva, and GIL, OF Cape Town, announc ed
comet which has been author1tavely spoken or
as lone OF the greatest astronomical wonders
OF this century, IL not OF modern times" It
was 12o, coo, eco miles long, or far more than
the distance from the earth 10 the sun. Unfor-
tunately, this rare visitor escaped our Northern
telescopes, for IL was only visible In the South
ern hemisphere Early In April. however, j. NJ.
Schaberleon, OF Ann Arbor, found little one
near the north star. On August IL DIT. Swift. or
Rochester, saw one. and at the end or Sep
TENDER Prof. Harrington OF Ann Arbor, saw
another. on october 10 Dr.. Swift, OF Roches-
ter. bagged second, making the fifteenth which
has been discovered In this country. or these.
six go to the Doctors tndiy dual score. ana for
the last four years his average has been one per
annum. That, yuigaIly speaking, gives him
the cake" II was shortly after this that another
eminent scientific person, who, apparently had
some difficulty In aiming his telescope. took oc-
casion to print letter In which he referred 10
he usual bungling way" IN which DR.. Swift
repares the occasional menus. incomprehensi-
IL by the vulgar. " hitch tell his colleagues when
'omets and ether astronomical delicacies are In
SeaSon. Finally, at the end OF the year. came
Cooper's comet, which. however, has had its
fires pretty much eXtinguIShed by the cold
water which has been thrown upon ft by our
own astTonomers-n we may be allowed that
figure OF speech.
In the best encyclopedias, under the title
Comets, may be found page after page OF the
choicest italics and hieroglyphicS known TO
scientific persons. II is impossible not to have
he highest respect for whatever these cryptic
grams may mean, but for general reading some
hing more Ineligible even If less exciting.
GEMS Ia be demanded. There are 10 all about
$50 rec6 ded comets. The $40 seen before 1910
must. Of course. have been observed with the
naked eye. The first known comet appeared In
17'0 b. c., so that the average OF discovery then
was about one in tweuty-four years. But from
the birth OF Christ TO the invention OF the tele-
scope they were seen much more frequently. In
those 1,600 years the average was one comet
for every four. In the go years since the
invention OF the telescope, 290 comets have
out aids to vision. Tycho Brahe the Danish
astronomer, who died In 1901, was the first TO
show that they were celestial bodies moving ia
regions far beyond this earth's atmosphere.
Aid Isaac Newton first showed that their ad-
parently cratic paths. were strictly governed
by the laws OF grayitation. A modern 1nveD-
ton, the SpectroScOpe, shows that they consist
in part or vaporized carbon. So that while
great deal remains TO be learned about comets,
yet enough is known to make them no more
portentous objects than any planet Even In
quite recent times, however. the ignorant have
been deeply moved by them. Thus. William
Miiier0 predictions OF the coming OF Christ ana
the end OF the world found no small support 10
the comet of 1913, which was visible to the
naked eye at noon. Even more luGicrous Was
the belief OF some that the first steamboat
which ever sailed on the Ohio was the
river. The, extreme absurdity OF this best
appears from the almost ipconceiy8ble tenuity
or The substance OF comet. In comparison
with it air is almost solid. Thus comet may
be thousands or millions of miles broad, and
yet faint stars may be seen shining through IL.
SO that, even though they move million
miles al hour-Somethlng which it Is hard TO
believe OF SO incoherent mass-they would
suffer far mere than this world In case OF col
lsion. 1t Is, indeed. believed that the world
actually did pass through the tail OF comet on
June 3d. 1861, and there was not then even a
smell OF smoke. And the collision between
Jupiter and comet In 1870 is known to have
resulted disastrOusly TO the comet 1t dii |
IL is true, Try It's best TO pass the planet, |
but Jupite1'S attraction was far too
strong, and the comet became caught |
among Jupiter'S moons Not one OF those |
little bodies was disturbed In the slightest |
degree, but the comet. when 1t was released |
after some four months confinement was SO |
changed In its orbit that ii could scarcely be |
recognized by its most Intimate friends. This |
liability to disturbance makes computations /
aoout cOmetary orbits liable to errors Other |
Wise they would arrive according to schedule |
time with far greater regularity than any rail- |
road TAIN. BrorSen'S comet Is expected In |
1854, and Tailey'S In 1911, and many Others |
might be named. Some OF the figures about |
comets are among the most stupendous play |
things OF astronomers, those BrahmlnS among |
mathematlcians. Thus, Donau's comets year |
is equal TO 1850 OF the earthS, and its greatest
distance from the sun Is 5000, 0O0, 900 miles. |
The corresponding figures for the comet of 1911 |
are GAO years, and IL, 000, 600, 900 miles. }