Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1882-02-24

SSournal an0 Courier.
Friday Morning, Feb. "a. 1882.
MIR. PROCTOR,s COMET SCARE.

NOIuE4 SS<AASG@'
The recent utterance of Mr.. Richard A.
Proctor, the celebrated astronomer, concern
ing comets has doubtless frightened many
people who have but just got over their scare
on account of Mother Shipton's prophecy.
Mr.. Proctor says, in substance, that careful
mathematical calculations have led to the be-
| lief that the comet seen in the southern
hemisphere early in the year 1880 is identical
with the great comet of 1S43, and also with
a comet that appeared in 1868. All of these
comets were remarkable for the closeness of
their approach to the sun. 1t is believed
that they must have passed through the SUMS
corona, and as this would have q retarding
effect upon them, the inference, supposing
them all to be one and the same comet, is
that the period of revolution, which was 175
years between 1868 and 1913. was reduced to
81 years between 1913 and 1880, and that it
must have been still further reduced in 1880,
so that the comet may return about 1891, and,
after one or two circuits, fall into the sun.
Mr.. Proctor's idea is that if big comet
should fall into the sun the conversion of its
immense momentum into heat would fire up
bhO oh1 w ouCA u uSSLCO GL1ttI ~ A1N1AS GAlLo
upon the earth could survive.
Thus Mr., Proctor whose understanding of
astronomical matters gives his words weight.
But Professor A. c. Young, of Princeton
College, who is one of the foremost of living
astronomers, does not ACCEPT Mr..
Proctors conclusions, as to the earth
being endangered by the fall of
4l,ok k1a
of the comets of 1868, 1913 and 1880 cannot
be regarded as established, and therefore
there is no evidence of a shortening of
period. To the question: but suppose
comet should fall into the sun, would the eff
feet be disastrous to us ?" he replied:
I think not There is no known comet
whose mass is sufficient to cause by its down
fall so great an increase OF the suns heat as
would be necessary to destroy all living
things on the face of the earth. l believe
Prof. Pierces estimate of the average comets
mass as equal to that of solid ball of iron
100 miles in diameter to be quite generous.
should be inclined to place the estimate low
err But even if we accept Prof. Peirce's
opinion we see that the average mass of COM
cts would not be equal to one one-hundred-
thousandth of the mass of the earth. Now,
if the earth should fall into the sum- it would
generate enough heat to keep the sun run
ming at its present rate of radiation for
about 100 years, that is supposing the pres
ent supply to be in the meantime cut off.
1t follows, therefore, that the fall into the
sun of mass, such we have taken to rep
resent comet would generate only enough
heat to keep the sun running for something
like four days. To put it in another way, if
the heat of the collision we're emitted within
four days after the fall the suns radiation
H. ii
These estimates of course, are only approx
mate, but they are near enough for our pres
ent purpose, But, in fact, the effect of the
collision would not be mainly felt in an imme-
diate increase of the radiation of heat from
the sun There might, at first, be flash
of heat which observers who were on
the lookout could perceive, but the
community at large would probably know
nothing about it. The greater portion of the
increase of energy resulting from the down
fall of the comet would be expended in the
sun itself in producing expansion of the solar
orb. In other words it would be expended
in doing mechanical work in the sun, and
SO we really would not get double supply of
heat even for four days. The added heat
would be radiated out slowly from the sun
during ages of time, and in the case suppos-
ed would be SO small as to be hardly noticea-
BILE at any particular period. 1t Is possible,
as said, that there might be sudden fash, as
the falling comet passing through the
outer atmosphere of the sun, but even that
would not be sufficient to cause disaster to
the earth unless the falling mass were thou
sands of times greater than the mass of any
known comet.
Professor Young considers it not improba-
BILE that if the earth ever is destroyed by fire
the cause will be the. collision of some body
with the sun, but he does not believe that a
comet will ever produce that effect. 1t is
possible, he says, that our sun, in its journey
through space might come into collision with
some other body of the same order of magni-
tude, as another SUD but the probabilities
of such thing happening are far less than
that the bullets of two hunters who hap
pen to be shooting squirrels in the same wood
should cnllida in the air