The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1881-06-30
who Fouud the Comet.
ITS DISCOVERY BY A YOUNG STUDENT
OF HAvERFoRD COLLEGE.


philadelphia Press, June A.)
DR.. Gould's comet, which was prom
ised three weeks ago as the astronomi-
cal event of the year, was discovered
first on this continent by Levi Ed
wards, n student at Haverford Col
lege, eight miles from this city, who,
with Professor Isaac Sharpless, was
turning out of bed at 2 o'clock yester-
day morning to try a new telescope
which Edwards had ingeniously made.
The students window looks toward the
north and east, and when he was
awakened by an alarm clock, which
had been set at the same hour in the
rooms of Professor Sharpless and
William Bishop, the first object his
sleepy eyes encountered was the pale
streak in the eastern horizon which
marked the tail of the comet, the
head of which was not yet visible.
Edwards,a graduate of the day before,
ran in considerable excitement to
Professor Sharples's room, where they
were Joined by Bishop, and in few
moments, namely, 2:2s A. NJ, the
three devoted astronomers were re-
gardlng the comet in awe-stricken ST.
lence. Such is the history of the rise
and discovery in the United States of
the most brilliant comet within Pro-
fessor Sharpless' personal experience.
Professor Lewis Swift happened to be
taking observations from the observa-
tory at Rochester yesterday morning
when the comet appeared, but the DIFF
ference in time, which corresponds
with that of the sun, gave the Haver
ford astronomers an advantage of
about fifteen minutes. At Washington
as well, the students at the Naval
Observatory were viewing the lesser
consultations, which were unusually
brilliant yesterday morning, and were
looking toward the west when the
visitor appeared in the northeast.
WHAT THE DISCOVERIES DID.
After the first view at Haverford
the College observatory was immedi
ately resorted to, but it was found, to
the chagrin of the discoverers, that q
clump of trees on the college grounds
interviewed, and the giant equatorial
telescope could not be brought to bear
on the comet. Edwards remembered
the seven foot telescope that he had
finished the day before. Professor
Sharpless seized the bulky instrument
and carried il to Il spot on the lawn
southwest of the college buildings.
Here the first observations were made
with distinguished success by the
young student who had finished q
telescope, graduated from college and
discovered comet within twenty-four
hours. The first flush of dawn soon
came and the comet, which had taken
northeasterly ascent, faded away,
although up to that time it had been
clearly visible to the naked eye. Ed
wards then posted across the fields to
Bryn Mawr, waking up the operator
there to telegraph the news of the dis
covery to Professor Swift, between
whom and Professor Sharpless there
| had been some correspondence rela-
| tive to the hest instruments with
which to view the expected comet
when it should arrive. Later in the
day dispatches were sent to the Smith
souian Institution at Washington.
"The Newtonian reflector with
which our observations were made" "
said Professor Sharpless to reporter
of the Press, who visited him at the
college last night, "did not enable us
to determine the exact shape of the
orbit in which the comet moved, and
| it is quite impossible for me to say
whether it will now approach the sun
and increase nightly in brilliancy OF
recede from it and become gradually
| less visible.
THE COMET RETURNS AFTER "A
| YEARS.
"Dr. Gould, who saw the comet
from the observatory near Buenos
Ayres, South America, on June and
telegraphed the discovery to England
believes it to be the same great comet
of 1907 which excited much interest
among scientists and not little alarm
among the superstitious. The diane
ter of its nucleus as measured by Bes
sci, the German astronomer, was
found to be 53S miles. 1t was ther
taken to be periodic and calculated by
him to return in 1,548 years. The
orbit of the comets are changed, how
ever by the attractions of the planets
and so this may be the same one.
should judge that the tail of the come
which appeared this morning was si1
Or seven degrees long"
(which in miles
"Well, that of 1874, discovered ol
the morning of July 3, was four dc
grees in length or about 10000
! miles. The nucleus of this comet
equal in brilliancy to Saturn or Mar
besides the envelope and tail by whic
it is at once identified with the make
! eye.
: 1.-THE comet of 1874 approached tn
sun, did it not?"
eyes, and in about three week
I time the tail heightened from 4 to
t degrees, or about 25,O0O,00O Englis
miles. AS the comet approaches I'll