The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1882-03-30
The Coming Great Comet.
IN. Y. SUM-


for it, we may expect to behold, in
May or June. a celestial spectacle such
as has not been equalled since 1858 or
1911. This comet, although some 200,
100000 miles from its perihelion,
which it will not reach for three
months, shows bright tail and star
like nucleus. The inference is fair
that the comet is very large one, and
that when it gets into our neighbor-
hood 1t will present a magnificent APP
pearance. Moreover, Prof. Chandler's
figures show that the comet is plunc-
ing almest straight at'thc sun, which
1t will probably approach within 100,
900 miles. The only other comet, in
the long list of those bodies whose
orbits have been calculated, which ap.
preached anything like as near to the
sun as this are the comet of so Is. c.,
the comet of 1867, the comet of 1850,
often called Newton's comet, the
comet of lS43, and the comet of 1880.
The last named was observed only ia
South America and Australia and at
the Cape of Good Hope. Concerning
the comet of so b. G., of which fright
full things are related, and which is
said to have split in two, not much is
Known. but the measurements made
| depended upon. In fact, it was the
approach ofthe comet of 1850 which
| led Newton to anticipate possible peril
! to the earth from the fall of great
comet into the sun. This is not the
popular view of the danger from
comets, the fear usually being that
they may strike the earh, or produce
pestilence by mingling the substance
of their tails with our atmosphere. OF
| late, the other view las been made
more conspicuous, especially since Mr..
Proctor's recent article OH what he
called the Menacin comet of 1881
which he anticipated may return in
1897.
The appearance of this new comet
on the heels of the discussion awaken
ed by Mr.. PrOctOr's suggestion gives
the subject renewed interest, especially
in view of the announcement that the
coming comet is going so close to the
sun. Unless the cllculators have
made a very great blrnder it will pass
through the corons, and, if large
enough, may Craze the luminous sur
! face. 1t should he noticed that there
is a discrepancy between the estimates
of the perihelion distinct made by
Prof. Chandler of Harvard University
and Prof. Boss of the Dudley Observ-
atOry, the latter making the distance
considerably greater than that above
given. Both agree, however, that the
approach will be % close one. The
question wheather the earth may not
at some time be in danger from great
comet is all the more interesting be-
cause men of science are not exactly
in accord upon it. MIR, Proctor is not
the only astronomer Who thinks that if
ever the world is to he destroyed with
, heat it will he when great comet
plunges into the sun. Even those
who think Mr.. Proctor Is mistaken in
. his conclusions admit that, given O
comet big enough and massive enough
undoubtedly its fall upoh the sun
would prove disastrous to the earth
/ But they say it would require a body
having II mass something like that O
Jupiter to produce such effects, anC
t compared with Jupiter the most mas
sive comet ever seen are more pigmies
| Besides, there seems good reason to be
lieve that Il comet would. on approach
, ing close enough to ihe sun, be pulled
to pieces and so drop piecemeal into
} the great orb, the fall being prolonged
perhaps though many revolutions, Sc
that the accession OF heat caused by
) the conversion of the comets motion
would be distributed ever q consider
able period of time. Besides, as Prof
Young has pointed oft, if comet fel
' into the sun the increase of heat woulC
be mainly used up in producing expan
D., sion of the suns orbs, md would alter
T. ward be radated out again through
long space of years. another very in
! teresting objection has been raised t,
e Mr.. Proctor's theory, namely, that a.
# three-quarters Of the strface which tht
= earth presents to the sun is covered
:, deep with water, such an increase o
' the suns heat as the fall ola come
IT might produce would cause a great in
IS crease of evaporation, which wOult
# use up the extra heat, and so protec
:, the earth from harm. According t
" this view we are reasonably safe s.
II long as the oceans list and the SUI
rs does not gets too hot
Of OF course the reply may be made t
4, these objections tiat, although n
~ known comet is graf enough to caus
d ne "srth f"'n, mt by it, @wpfall upon IT,
d comets exist thousands of times NOR
Is massive than any human eyes hav
\. ever seen, and that such comet ma,
' some time pay us visit. In fact, w
y have had II rather distant view of on
5. comet that really seemed to belong. t
e. an order Of magnitude different fror
:, that OF ordinary cOmets-a sort OF celt
" stial whale among fishes. This wa
the famous comet of 1911, which had
heed almost as big as the sun itsel
But 1t Kept far away, its periheliO
y distance being some ninety millio
miles. If such "A comet as that shoul
\ rush upon the sun, Mr.. Proctor think
=, 1t would soon show US what it coul
y do. But his opponents say that eve
70 the downfall of the comet of 1911, a
a. though it might make the weatht
n uucomfortably hot for us, would no
10 dissolve the clements with ferveI
~ heat" Those who may have lin,
"a erlng suspicion of danger can tax
i comfort in the fact that when til
a huge comet disappears it was trave
"a ing on track that must have carrie
iS 1t uncOunted billions of miles ava
q from the solar system, so that it is II,
# likely to return in thousands of year
n II ever. That the astronomers then
"a selves are not much alarmed is show
% by the fact that they are all very an.
A. lous TO witness the promised spectac
n OF the downfall of comet in 1897 (
~ Whereabouts.
Whether the coming comets clo'
approach to the sun will throw an
llght on this interesting question
, course cannot be foretOld, but all IL
y present indications are that it will pa
It's respects to the ruler of the sOli
C saytem with royal splendor, presen
ing perhaps such scene as was wi
: messed when the great comet of l26
fllI lIfasl 10. bod