The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1882-04-23
THE COMING GREAT
COMET.
Promise of An Unparalleled &C.
leStial Spectacle.

q young astronomer j week ago Iul-
fills half the promises made for it, va
may expect to behold may or June,
a celestial spectacle such has not
been eoualed since 1858 or 1911.
This comet, although some 200, 000,-
! 600 miles from iss periheliop, which
il will not reach for tnr9e months,
shows 8 bright tall and stariike nu
: cleus, The inierenes Is fair that toe
comet is a very large one, and tnas
when It gets into our neighbOrhood it
will present a magnificent appear
ance. Moreover, Professor Cnandler's
figures show that the comet is pluug
ing almost straight at the sun, which
Il will probably approach within l00,-
900 miles. The only other comets, In
the long list OF those bodies whose Or
bits have been calculated, which ap-
preached anything Ike as n g. o the
sun as this are the comet OF $40 SO,
the comet VI 1868. the comet of 1850.
often called NeWton's comet, the
comet of 1843, and the comet of 1890.
The last named was observed only in
South America and Australia and the
Cape of Good Hope. Concerning the
comet OF $40 B. c., of which frightful
things sre related, and which is said
to have spills in two, not much is
known, but the measurements made
in she other cases are generally to be
depended upon. In fact it was the
pesrness OF the approach of the comet
10 1880 which leu Newton TO antici-
pata possible peril on the earth from
the tall of II great comet into the sun.
This is not the popular view of the
dangers from comets, the fear usually
being that they may strike the earth.
or produce pestilence by mingling
the substance Of their tails with our
atmosphere. OF late, the other view
has been made more conspicuous,
especially since Mr.. Proctor's recent
article on what be calls the menscing
comet of 1880, which he anticipates
may return again ia 1897. The sp-
pearance Of this new comet on the
heels Of the discussion awakened by
ar. ProcLor's suggestion gives the
subject renewed interest, especially
In view of the announcement that
the coming comet Is going go
CLOSE To TIE sun.
I Unless the calculators have made a
, very great blunder it will pass through
tue corona, and, If large enough, may
I graze the luminous surface. 1t should
, De noticed that there Is a discrepancy
between the estimates OF the perhelion
distance made by Professor Chandler,
3 OF Harvard university, and Professor
Boss, of the Dudley observatory, the
latte Tmsking the distance cousldera-
big greater than tia: above given.
I BGthagree, however, that the approach
will be 8 close one. The question
whether the earth may not at some
time be in danger from q great comet
Is all the more interesting because
men Of sciences are not exactly In az
cord upon it. Mr.. Proctor is not the
only astronomer who thinks that if
ever the world is 10 be destroyed with
heat il will be when 3 great comet
plunges into the sun. Even those who
think Mr.. Proctor Is mistaken in his
conclusions admit that, given a comet
big enough and massive enough, IN
doubtedly it's fall upon the sun would
prove disastrous to the earth. But
they say it would require BODY hav-
ing a mass something like that OF
! Jupiter to prodIce such effects, and
compared with Jupiter the most mas
slve comets ever seen are mere pyg-
mics. Besides, there eeems good rea-
sOns 10 believe that comet would ,0n
approaching close enough to the SUP,
be pulled to peiess aud SO drop piece
meal into the great ORC, the fall being
prolonged, perhaps, through many
revelations, so that the accession Of
heat caused by the conversion OF the
comets motion would be distributed
over a considerable period of time.
Besides, as Professor Young has
pointed cut, If a comet fell into the
sun the increase Of heat would be
mainly used up in prod icing expan.
sion Of the SUMS orb, and would after.
wards be rsdiated out again through
a long space Of years. Another very
interesting objection has been raised
to Mr.. Prootor's the0ry-nsmely that
as three-quarters of the surface which
the earth presents to the sun is COW
I cred deep with water, such an
INCREASE OF THE suns HEAT
As the fall Of comet might produce
would cause a great increase of evan.
Grafton, which would use up the extra
heat. and 60 protect the earth from
harm. According to this view We are
reasonably cafe SO long as the oceans
last and the sun does not GET too hot.
! OF course the reply may be made to
these objections that, although no
known comet is great enough to cause
Us harm by its downfall upon the
earth, yet We do not know but that
comets exist thousands OF times more
massive that any OF human eyes have
ever seen, and that such a comet may
at some time pay Us visit. In fact,
sc have had a distant view of one
comet that really seemed to belong to
en order of magnitude different from
/ Il