St. Landry democrat., 1882-03-04
THE WARNER PRIZE ESSAY.
Comets: Their Composition, Purpose
and Effect Upon the Earth.

Comets Their Competition, Purpose
and Effect Upon the Earth.
Professor Lewis Boss, Director of Dud-
ley Observatory, Receives the $500
Prize Given by HI. HI. Warner, of
Rochester, New York.
In January, 1881, Mr.. H. III. Warner, OF Ro-
chester, n. Y, Founder OF the Warner ObserVa-
tory, announced a prize OF 5000 i'll gold to any
American or Canadian who, during the year
should discover u telescope unexpected comet
When Comet "B." or the great comet, was dls-
covered, effort was made to ascertain VINO nrst
saw it, and had conclusion been posslDle
among the thousands OF claimants, speclai
prize would have been given. As none couid
he reached, Mr.. Warner determined to give
special prize OF $500 for the best essay on
Comets, their Composition, Purpose and E11ect
on the Earth" One hundred and TWENTY-FIVE
essays were sent to Director Swift, OF; the war
her Observatory, and after careful review,
the Judges-Professor Elias Colbert, OF Chlca-
go, ILL.,. Professor FL. A. Newton, of Yale COL
lege, New Haven, Conn, and Professor h. NJ
Parkhurst, OF New York Clty-unani,iIIIiio.sy nm
award the prize to the essay signed "Hlppars
chus ILL., by Professor Lewis Boss, Director Oi
the Dudley Observatory, OF Albany, n. J..
Following is the full text:
Though modern science has taught us much
concerning the physical nature OF comets, no
one has yet been able to construct a tneofy
which is either complete or free from opJec-
possible within our brief limits, and without
the use OF technical language, we WILL endeaEor
to outline some OF the more important results
of observation and reflection upon TINS supJecI.
We shall be obliged to draw freely from the re-
suits elaborated during the last hfty years ny
Bessel, Winnecke, Bond, Newton, LHllner,
Bredichin and many others, without reference
to individual authorities. or dlgresslohs upon
rival theories and claims.
METEORS-OFFSPRING OF COMETS,
1. About twenty years ago 1t was proved
,x,J1xy I'M
meteors are due to swarms. OF small bodies
which revOlve about the sun III elnptlcal pttns,
so situated Ill space as to encounter the EARN
at nearly the same time III eacn d suosetuiis ~ ~
Identical in some cases with those OF CERTAIN
well known comets. The conclusion seeiieu
Irresistible and is now accepted, that snootlns y
stars, or Ineteorl0ds are Slnply tne onspihiS u
disinteSrated comets. -,,,
Mos lkely, aerolites [large meteorsl when
sOmet9zaes reach the surface OF the earth, are
of the same origin. These bodies usually enter
our atmosphere with veocities relative 10 Lne
earthl ranging from twenty to forty-nve miies
per second. In consequence OF the mconceS
able heat which would be generated by such
contact-manifested by the fiery train they
leave behind-the smaller meteofs. however
dense, would be at once converted INTO impair
pable vapor Only the larger ones coalI nh sIr tha
viye the tremendous encounter and reacn Ine
earth. Still others, composed OF more Iusipie
substance, though very large, may De unable
either to overcome the mechanlcal reslstanS1 saaa
lI. "
Furthermore, that fiery ordeal must strlP aero
lites OF all volatile matter and leave only e.
fractory substances behind. Hence, analysis
of meteoric stones might give us an ldea %, oI
the real composition of comets which would pe
totally misleading just as the ruins OF q mouse,
destroyed by fire, would be no iudex OF the
chemical composition OF all tile materlal IL
contained before the disaster.
TESTIMONY OF THE sPECTRoscoPE AND PoLAh-
ISCOPE.
5 2. The Spectroscope flight analyzerl ratner
,..4n, $11y i<.Ia aa
chemical and physical nature OF comets: III
seems to show that the nucleus is soma OF
liquid incandescent lat glowing Temperature T
mass 1t proves quite concluslyely tnab Ihe
matter surrounding the nucleous contains ny
drogen and carbon in one OF their numerous
compounds. The fame of the Bunsen burner,
which contains one of the compounds, SHOWS
a spectrum flight analysis which is very sml-
lar to- if not Identical with, that observed III
comets Some observers have reported tnab
these elements give evidence O. tnelr presence
il, the tails of comets at considerable distance
from the head. Ii so, we must suppose tne at
tenuated matter of the tail to be seif-inin1nous'
This may be attributed to some form OF electrl-
cal action since, considering the low temper
ature of space, it cannot be due TO 1ncahdes-
-cence proanced by ordinary heat.
Recent observations with the spectroscOpe
seem to prove that a part OF the nSht from tne
comets is really reflected sunlight since II
family exhibits a sprectrum IKE lnat u oohef
bodies, which shine by reflected light alone.
The Polariscope instrument 1or detectnS ecu ~
reflected light also gives evidence Which
leads to the same conclusion. The use oI unis L
instrument in examining faint sources OF ilSnt is
attended with great difficulties; ana n tne
present connection, the records OF dlHefeht
observers are not strictly harmonious.
RECORD OF THE TELESCOPE.
g. Comets are seen in their simplest form as
faint patches of nebulous light. Iney are
usually circular or oval in outline, without re-
,Yuarkable difference Of brightness from center
to circumference. At later stage OF deVeiop-
nIent the comet shows diffused brightness IN
pfs t-Yny cc
ton. 49,
structure becomes far more complex. IHe
center condensation gathers intensity Fmai-
IL. a point or disc of light appears near the
center, which shines with a light approxima-
ting that OF the planets. This is called the nn-
4cleus.
Observers with powerful telescopes usually fnd
that what we commonly call the nucleus has no
definite magnitude. 1t continually measures
ference ia that the real nucleus, ii 10 consists OF
q single solid body, must be very small, ana
much obscured by the vapors which SURROUND
it, Generally the nucleus appears 20 sllrlhk @ ~
si 70 as ii approaches the sun. The most piaus-
ibIe explanation seems to be, that Win less
ened distance from the sun, the real nucleus
gefs hotter and brighter and that at the same
time. the vapors near it become more Eanspa,
rent. Other explanations have been onered
THE ENVELOPES.
Wa commonly find that the coma tneDulous
matter about the nucleus] appears much
brighter on the sunward side. In many cases,
streams OF matter appear to issue from the nlie
eIeus on that side. These assume variety 0i
forms and are almost always curved back
ward from the direction of the SUN, at their ex-
fremeties. Above the streams. or Jets, are some.
times seen one or more arcs Of Light concen.rlc 1
reeeae0iust .sn as waves recede in widening cir
i.Ias from. a stone dropped into still water.
These envelopes, as they are called; are SUI sup
1er more dense than the surrounding parts OF
the coma. ,4.;4; - +1o
s.,ishod The rays Of light from distant stars
sae-, through it are not sensibly bent, OF re-
fraeted. rms shows that gases OF an appfe'