, 1881-06-26
THE COM ET.
Dissertations of the Learned
Bopeeps Throughout the
Country.
Suppose the Sun to Be Pried Up with
a Plank, Our North Pole as
a Fulcrum;.
Then Lift the Plank Far Up, at
the End Away from the
Sun;
The Plank Would Describe the Inside Of
the Track Of the Comet Around
the Sun.
II Has Gone Down the Outside Stretch
Unseen, and Made the
Turn;
Coming Up from under the Sun,
the South Americans
Saw It;
Then 1t Travelled a Few Weeks in
the Direct Rays of the
Sun;
When It Began to Walk High Up the
Plank, the Man at the Stock i.
- Yards Saw It.
Let the Comet Alone, and He VIII
Go Home, Carrying His Tail
Before Him.
When It Began to Walk High Up the
Plank, the Man at the Stock .
Yards Saw It.
Let the Comet Alone, and He VIII
Go Home, Carrying His Tail
Before Him.
WASHINGTON.
EASTMAN AND SKINNER.

l "ASfIISGTON, IL. y. J1{lle -.-l'ToiS
Eastman and Skinner. WHO remained
Oh duty last night ut the Naval OBJ
seryatory, succeeded in getting some fair oh
seryations of the comet, although the night
| wits not altogether Il favorable Ole, Prof.
! Skinner describes the comet Us having an ex-
| trc,nc!y bright nucleus, which, when OH
| served, presented very ruslAy appearance.
The observers did not know whether this ap-
| pear:,ncc was normal, or WAS due TO prevail
| in. atmospheric conditions. Prof. Skinner
estimates tic tail, which is fan-shape.l, at
abo,: eight degrees III length. The nbserv-
| ers aSccrtaincu that, i'll twenty-five minutes,
the cn1nct trt:cicd three minutes Of arc. and
in an lpur nine minutes, giving it 4 daily
rate Of travel nortilward of about three de-
greeS and tlirty-six minutes. COM
! putting its motion from its posi-
! ton when discovered at Paris, Prof. Skinner
found that, III two days and Il quarter The
cnn1et llau moved about 10 degrees. This
morning it became distinctly visible at / :45,
and could be seen until the sun had rendered
invisible all the stars except Venus. The
astronomers ut the observatory still main
tain the opinion that this comet is identical
with the one recently observed by DR.. Gould
IN EUEAOS -AYEES.
astronomers is OF course still unsettled,
Prof Skinner describes it as a much
finer comet than Coggia's, which ;ep-
pcared in 1874 and brighter than any
since that which appeared i'll
1873. He thinks that Prof. Draper will be
able to secure photographs of il, and that it
will probably yield ricl results to photo
GRAPHIC investigation. The Ercning Star
of to-day prints the views of gentleman
WHO docs not claim to be an expert in astron-
omy, hut who has had guod deal of expe-
ricnce.
THE PARAGRAPH
is as follows: 1.-The beautiful comet now
seen in the northern heavens is probably re-
ceding from the sun, instead Of approaching.
1t has passed its pcrihelion, and is rapidly re-
cedinE into space toward its apflclion.
Probably the reason that observers on
the earth failed to mute its arrival is because
its line OF approach to the sun relative to the
earth was in the direction Of the sun, so that
the brighter light Of tile sun forbid its being
seen by those On the earth. But its departure
is III Il direction such that tile SUMS rays will
not Interfere with our seeing it. The head
of 4 comet, when approaching the sl,n, pre-
cedes the tail, but, in recedng from the sun,
it moves III the direction of the tail
very nearly. The tail preceding the
nucleus day by day, we may expect
to see the comet apparently recetling from
tile sun, and. probably. also from the earth,
with its path in the direction of the tail. It's
visit will, doubtless, be Il short one, growing
rapidly fainter day by day, and astronomers
to make very important observations, will
doubtless he on tile alert" Tie TRIBUNE
correspondent obtained from
PROF. SIMON SEWCoMB,r !
the eminent astronomer, to-day, statement
regarding the probable identity of the comet
Prof. Newcolnb said: ''The statement
which, if true, will attach most interest to
this comet is that made in the
tclcgraphc dispatch FROM DR.. Gould
that it is return of the
great comet of 1SO7. It will be remembered
that the first news obtained of the comet,
some three weeks ago, was contained in dis
patches from the southern hemisphere. 1t
appears that among the first dispatches was
that sent by DR.. Gould. Another followed
from the astronomers at the Cape of Good
Hope, aud q third
WAS SENT BY THE EMPEROR OF BKAzII.
to the French Academy Of Sciences. The
question now arises, Is it possible that DR..
Gould can be right in saying that it is a
return Of the comet of 1907? The latter
comet was discovered at Marscil1es Sept. Ii,
1907, and was followed for more than six
months,-; period sufficiently long to give
very accurate determination Of its orbit All
the observations made upon it showed it to
have period Ut
NEARLY 100 YEARS.
It seems out Of the question that, under any
circumstances. the same comet could have
returned in SO short time us seyenty-four
years, unless it has passed i'll the vicinity Of
some Of the larger planets. which, according
to the elements, it could not have done. This
comet was observed carefully by DR.. William
1lerschel, OIL Oct Is. The tail was three
degrees and threequarters long, but it rap
idly diminished, and by Dec. 16 was very
short indeed. The only way by which the
identity OF the two comets can be inyesti-
gated now is by ascertaining whether they
move iii the same orbit From Dr. Gould's
telegram it may be inferred that the comet
was very near the orbit of that of 1907 when
lie observed it. The Emperor of Bra
zil telegraphed the elements 10 the French
Academy Of Sciences, but, unfortunately,
one element is wanting. The resemblance
with those Of the comet OF 1907 is not very
great.
WHAT HAVE DONE
has been to calculate the apparent position |
in the heavens OF the orbit of 1907 on the I
morning Of June 9, when the comet was
nrst seen On this hemisphere, III order to