The Harrison times. (Harrison, Boone Co., Ark) 1876-1938, 1882-10-21
The Comet.

winch nus ever huOfueu tne canopy
Of Heaven. The whole of earth's
dome seems illuminated as this
strange visitor makes its appearance
IN the eastern horizon, and the sight
Is one we'll worth an hours eontem-
platoon. Its brightest appearance
was about the lst OF the present
when it was nearest the sun,
and the brllllanoy was then in a
measure due to ineandeseenee but
even now, it is the most marked Tea.
lure ofthe early morning sky.
Prof. Proctor, the New York As
trCnomcr has the following % say
in regard TO this wonder,
"rhe TAIL" he sand, @is at least fif.
teen degrees long, and would reach
between the two most extreme stars
of the handle of the great dlpper-
that is about fifty million miles
more than half tho distance from
tho earth to the sun. In this comet
the tail points away from u.s."
"Was it more brilliant when il
was first described 7"
"The head was as bright as Sirius
when saw it first, and | thought
the tail would lengthen until il
reached Alphard. But it has not
come more than million miles
nearer TO US than the sun. 1t came
up from beyond the sun, you see.
passed it and then passed back
again. 1t is fast receding, probably
at rate OF two and q half million
miles a day. But this rate will
gradually be lessened. At the pres
ent time it is about seventy million
miles from the sun and one hun.
dred and twenty million miles from
U.S.
+" Has 1t been very near the
Garth z"
ooh, no. But 1T is q remarkable
thing that on the 18th, 10th and
goth OF September | could see this
comet at MONDAY with my tele
scope right through q considerable
veil OF mist, but now the teleseop
fails to bring it out IN daylight, ever
when the sun is below the horizon
"Will people who keep respeeta-
bic hours be able to see the come
after awhile"
"Thoy will not be able to see i
before midnight, that is certain. Ev
cry day after this 1t will BIO visibl.
in its present place five minutes ear
lier. The sun is travelling eastward
one degree day and the comet ii
moving westward little less than 6
degree. You see they are moving
in opposite directions, and while the
comet rises earlier the sun rises la.
ter. So, although the brightness oil
our phenomenon Is decreasing, yet
whom we sec it against perfectly
black sky, as we soon shall, it will
DO viewed to moro advantage than
wane, too, and when her fight is ies'
sened the sky will be in splendid
for q view of the comet"
"What is this comet composed OF
Are you able to tell yeti"
"Not altogether. We know il
contains sodium, but in what guam
tity we are unable to say. You
would DO surprised to know, sup.
pose, that a single teaspoonfull OF
sodium, volatilized and expanded,
would make an immense comet
but it is a fact. Their substance is
so light that Babinet described a
comet as a visible nothing The
tail is probably OF cloud formation.
alas this comet been here bo-
fore Z"
al haven't identified it with any
other comet that we know of. Bar.
nard's comet is still visible IN the
sky through the telescope, aud the
comet OF lS43 ought not to return
for centuries"
"What is your theory as to its
origin ?"
"Well, suspect that this comet
together with that of lS43 and
1880, belongs to group revolving
around the sun. They are all in the
same orbit, and there may be moro
which cannot be seen in the nigh,
time"
care they fragments or planets p
IL think not. The most plausiblC
theory yet given is that they are
portions of some great nebulous OF
cloudy mass which floats in space
This mass is supposed TO have beer
separated by various forces, and The
fragments gradually drawn into the
orbits of suns, around which they
revolve as satellites"
"What is there TO distinguish thiI
comet from others, outside of til
size"
"Tho lower edge of the tail i
formed OF a line of extreme length
ness. This indicates nothing il
particular yet, but we may get goo,
results from our study of it late
on" t..
Such rs the comet and its pedigrer
as science dpterminates it. As
strange and beautiful phenomenon
it is likely to attract general atten
ton. To the student Of the heaven