Northwest enterprise. [volume] (Anacortes, Wash. Ter.) 1882-1887, 1882-10-28

spectrum of the brightest comet OF
1881 physicists have succeeded in de
tecting the dark lines (the so called
Fraunhofer lines) of the solar spec
trum. These lines have been photo
graphed by DR.. Huggins they don't
show in DIR. H. Draper's photographs
Now, failing to obtain or see these
dark lines means little or nothing.
seeing them, however, and still more
photographing them, is decisive
making it absolutely certain that part
of the comets light rs reflected sun
| light. There must be matter like
meteoric dust in the head and nucle-
us and probably in the tail also of a
comet to enable it to shine in this
way by rejecting the light of the sun.
But the latest comet which has vet
been observed with the spectroscope
has brought fresh news. 1 refer to
Wells comet, sometimes called, rath
er affectedly, Comet Wells. The
spectrum of this comet did not at
first show the
CARBON BANDS
To which / have referred above.
"The cyanOgen groups" says DIR. Hug
gins, "are not SEEM" and he does not
seem to have looked for them later.
But in May, 1881, Vogel found that
the carbon bands were present,
though faint. He noticed no other
bright bands or lines. Still later,
however, an unexpected change took
place. DIR. Hasselberg, of the OBJ
servatory of Pulkowa, found that the
nucleus of the comet gave very
strong and extended continuous spec
trum, with an excessively strong
bright line in the orange yellow,
which he was able to identify by mi
croscopical measurment with the well
known d line of the solar spectrum
line due to the presence of sodium
in the atmosphere of the sum-" So
soon as the news was announced,
Duner, Bredichin and Vogel observed
the spectrum of the comet, and were
able fully to confirm DIR. Hasselberg's
observation. Mr.. Hind, Superintend
ent of the English Nautical Almanac,
remarks on this that "it is necessary
to conclude that during the last fort
night of May the spectrum of Wells
comet changed in a manner of which
the history of science furnishes no
precedent" Since he so wrote it has
been observed by DIR. Muller, of the
Astrophysical Observatory at Pots
dam, that the light of Wells comet
increased more rapidly during the
second half of May than had been
predicted, indicating an unexpected
development of proper or inherent
light in the comet itself" "This in
crease" no adds, ''was most marked
just about the very time when the
sodium line was first observed in the
spectrum; wherefore we must con-
clude that important changes oc-
Cured about that time in the physic-
al condition of the comet" 1t ap-
pears to me that these observations
are full of promise.
Astronomers had begun to suppose
that no comets were likely to give
more information than had been al
ready obtained from Winnecke's
comets. But now it seems as though
the appearance of the carbon bands
belong to one stage only of comets
progress through the changes which
occur as the comet approaches the
sun. With nearer approach
SODIUM vAPoR
Is first formed and then caused to
glow with its own inherent light.
What further changes might be OBJ
served in the case of comet OBJ
served under such favorable condi
tions as existed in the case OF
Donati's comet (185S) who shall say
1t seems as though there were
chance that, after all, these mystori-
GUS bodies will one day be interrupt
ed. For so soon as we have learned
how the physical changes which the
spectrOscope may detect are associ-
ated with those changes OF form,
the development OF envelopes, the
outward sweep of the tail, the fOrma-
ton OF secondary tails, ETC., which
still remain among the mysteries OF
cometic existence, we may well be-
lieve that science will soon be able
to decide between the various theO-
ries which have been advanced, or
perhaps to show that while none OF
these are sound some other theory
hitherto unthought OF will alone &C
count for the observed phenomena
It seems not unlikely that the theory
may be admitted to which many
American men OF science and DIR.
Huggins, in England, seem to have
given in their adhesion-the theory
that great electrical disturbances are
set up by the suns action in connec-
tion with the vaporation OF some OF
the matter of the comets nucleus,
and that the tail is probably mat
ter carried away with electric dis
charges, under an electrical influence
OF remission exerted by the sun.
A KINp-HEARTED PRINCESS Seldom
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