Hand County press. (Miller, Dakota [S.D.]) 1882-1893, 1882-10-18
COMETS.
Their Natwre and Origin, srith, an &c o.,f
Of Some Great Osscs- W1H fhc Present
(-o,,sef SfrtIte fHe Earfh? sNs.s-

Their Natsre AID Origin, rifh an &c oa.f
Of Some Great Osscs- W1H fhc Pwseaf
Comet strike fhe Eartha
Prof. @. p. Jacobs, of the Home Observa-
tory, indianapolis contributes the follow
ing to the Journal OF that city: Comets
orm a part of our planetary system,and
Arago estimated the number of comets
that traverse the solar system, within the
orbit Of Neptune, at 17,5o0,Coo. Indeed,
much higher estimates have been male.
OF this vast number, but very few
travel in orbits which are clliptica
that is, in curves which return upon them
selves; by far the greater number move In
orbits which admit of no return. During
the last $40 years more than 2e0 comets nave
been noted and Of those whose return can
with any probability be predicted, Their pc
RODS vary from three and a hat to 100. 0D
years Thelatter was the period calculated
for the comet of Juty. iSi4
SOME GREAT COMETS.
Among the most remarkable comets which
have swung their fiery brands nc oss the ce-
lestial vault may be mentioned the large
comet of 1880, which agitated all Italy. The
comet of Charles the Fifth, which appeared
in 1855, which caused that monarch 10 abdi-
cate the imperial throne This great comet
was considered by astronomers TO be the
same comet that appeared in 1854, and, II So
its period would be about 29s wears and 1t
ought to haye rsappeared in 134S. but II has
not since been seen, or at least tdentlfled as
such. The great comet OF 1885, which pissed
SO near the sun that Newton estimated it's
heat ut perihelion to be loo times that OF
red-hot ron Its orbit requires S,Sl4 years
to complete one journey around the sun. In
1886 comet appeared whose nucleus shone
as a star of the first magnitude. The comet
of 1744 had several tails, and so did
one that appeared in 176a THE great
comet OF 1S43 was one of the most
brilliant ever observed. 10 was vi ible m
daylight. not only the. nucleus, but the tail
The latter was 150 o00,0 900 OF mites In length.
The comet of 1911 had o tail 100, ,0o0, 600 of
miles lony, that Is it would reach further
than the distance from the earth , the sun.
It's peric d was calculates at 3 065 wears. The
comet OF tS5s comes next 20 the In S az ,ad
splendor. 1t was discovered by Donati, an
Italian astronomer, ut Floronee, on the I'd OF
June. and became Wis ble TO the naked eve
about the I'd of September, and soon became
a most brilliant object In the northern sky
Its nucleus was very bright, and its tail was
OF unusual size. The comet of 1861 was one
of tho most magnificent that ha, e,er been
seen 1t was first seen on the 3 tn of June
Its nucleus was as bright as Venus when she
IL nearest the earth, and the tail was 40 de-
grees in length in July. Just above the nu-
cleus the tail divided. forming long, mar
row opening through which the sky and
stars could be seen
Another large comet appeared in 1862 and
this was distinguished by series of lumin-
Gus Jets which were emitted IRON The nu-
cleus in a direction opposite to tn tail
Other large comets appeared IN later wears,
one of the most noteworthy being Coggia's
comet, which appeared in 1874. Tue comets
! of 1889 and 1881 are well remembered Dur
ing the last year-lSSl -seycn comets were
seen by astronomers and were desienatedin
| the order of their appearances as comets q, b,
| ~ "A and CDnlat Ia the spfplt cnlgt 0f
/ 1881, was discovered by Prosper Henry. at
| the Paris. Observatory, ON the 2Sd of~Junos
| Through the tail of this comet stars could
be seen, and they have even been seen
| through,the nncleus OF comets On the 5th
! Of Qcteber, 1855, the tail OF the great comet
| of that year passed over the bright star Arc
| turtis and although the densest part OF the
tail covered the star, there was not tho
slightest dmnution OF its brightness
/ THE PRESENT ccME- Ttft
/ From observations made at the Washing
i ton Observatory the elements OF this comet
/ lave been computed by Profs. Frisby and
ikinner, of the Naval Observatory. They are
surprisingly like those of the great comet OF
lss, and some astronomers nave expressed
| the belief that the two comets are. in fact
| one and both are identical with the notable
ouet of lSi3 But it must be remembered
that 20 compute the orbit and dete5mlne 4 the e
4 one OF the most difficult problems. ansl re-
quires great labor, based upon OFT repeated
observations.
| Will the comet strike the earth? This is n
| gu sstion that has been asked OF every large
comet that has visited US for the past 800
wears And there have not been wan ing, In
every age, number OF alarnists aud false
| prophe.s who have predicted the total de-
struction OF our panst BY collision
/ with one OF these mysterious strangers
| But so far, the good old earth has steadily
| logged on her way unfiarm I'd BY any such
| disaster The present comet has probably
! away from b m with constantly diminish
ing speed There In no .probab. .lity that it
win come any nearer the earth than it Is
4 now. 3tts
The astronomers have scovered that the
| comet now visible in the eastern heavens
! splits into sections every four days, aiii that
| 'he fragments rcvoiv" about n omu1ol cen
i TER OF GRAVITY Alternately coSing and sep1-
ratinu fiie sinitl.sea an Insti ute a Wash
'ag on his rece we'd from the Academy OF
cna, the announcement Of the di cevery
Nv schmidt a. Athens. ON iha s.h De-
tober. OF comst four degrees southeast
| o. the great com Z Pro- swift,
| of Rocheste SAYS this Is unquestioaably q
fragment of the great comet. broken on al
its periheliou pas ,age This prove that the
great GENET must have grazed the sin. and
hence passed through the tsIrib e crisis
This IL the se ond instan Q on record where
| G met has been disrunted, the first one be-
iny Biela's comet OF 1876