National Republican., 1883-09-26
THE COMET IS COMING.
II is Behaving in Such a Curious Way as TO
Attract Attention.
What the Astronomers at the Observatory
Think Of It,
II is Approaching Rapidly, but II will be Two Months
Before II is Visible 10 the Naked Eye
Some Curious Facts and Fancies About
These brilliant Bodies.

Tho Brooks comet is attracting vast deal
of attention just now, outside of the interest
which always centers in those mysterious
wanderers of space, for it is coniectured by
some astronomers that 1t is tho famous
comet Of 1912, and it developed very re-
markable increase in brlliancy between the
observations of last Friday and Saturday
nights.
To ascertain tho latest concerning this
strange and swiftly flying visitor to our solar
system, representative of THE REPUBLICAN
yesterday visited the observatory to consult
with the professors. Only Capt. Sampson
had inspected the new conner.
SUNDAY night" said that gentleman, "was
the first time / observed it, and | also looked
last night. noticed on the first night that
il was very much more brilliant than | had
supposed it would be. Last night it was
very much fainter at the first observation.
This might, however, have been due to at
mospheric conditions Sunday night IL ap-
peared to be very yellow in color, This also
might have been due to atmospheric condi-
tons. Last night it was white, the usual
hue of comets"
Have you calculated its orbit YETI"
mo. We generally take these observations
with a considerable interval between them
before we get the elements for computation"
AS much as a week?"
"Well, yes; say % week."
"Then your two observations taken, one
tho night after the other, may be considered
only one for purposes of computation ?"
No. In weeks time observations taken
on two successive nights, in conjunction with
those already taken, would be sufficient"
1T is said this is the famous comet of 1912.
Do you find it sop
Before determining that question it's
orbit must be calculated. If it is the same as
that of 1912, it will be pronounced the same
comet"
"And its period?"
''Its period would then seem to be seventy
one years.
"How long before it will be visible to the
naked eyep
Not for two months"
"Where is it?"
ain the constellation Of the Dragon. II
comes to the meridian about 8 o'clock. Its
right ascension is 16 hours 25 minutes; its
declination go degrees 70 minutes north"
"What is its shapc?"
"Circular."
The astronomer thon went westward to ON.
gage in the mysteries Of lawn tennis while
the reporter went eastward to muse upon the
mysteries of comets.
Right ascension is the distance of heav-
enly body east from the first point of the sign
Aries, measured on the equinoctial. Decina-
tion is the distance of heavenly body
either north or south of the cquinoctial
measured on y meridien.
The equinoctial or equator of the heavens is
the great circle formed on the concave suriare OF
the heavens by producing the plane of the
earth's equator. Meridiens are imaginary great
circles drawn through the poles of the world
cutting tho equator and the oquinoctial nj
right angles The Dragon is an Immense and
la a hn
thing like series of loopcd coils, to be found
between the very bright star Lyra, tho Chair
of Cassiopeia, the "Dippor" stars, and the
Pole star. 1t cannot fail to be noticed in the
clear frosty nights of the fall and winter. 1t
is in this constellation that the comet now
gltters in resplcndent brilliancy to the far
reaching telescopes.
Observations at Harvard university showed
that on Sunday night the comet famed out
in a degree of splendor six or eight times its
brilliance Of the night previous. Its general
aspect also entirely changed. From difTuse
nebulosity with faint nucleus it suddenly
became starliko object. Observers rccog-
niaed faint, short brush of light toward tho
east, apparently indicating the formation of a
tail. On Sunday night, as Capt. Sampson OBJ
served, its color became n very bright deem
yellow 1t is rushing with inconceivable
rapidity toward the sun and earth
Comets are nearly as much of mystery
Calixtus III ordered the Ave Maria to bo re-
peated three times a day. instead OF two. and
the bells of the churches to be rung at noon.
Men regarded them then as they did tho
Turks and the devil, and added to their Ave
Maria prayer to be saved from these three
common enemies of Christcndom. who were
each and all accommodated every day with
solemn and fearful regularity.
We know the Turk better to-day, and have
no fear of him. The skeptical spirit of the
age would indicate that we desire to know
the devil great deal better than we do, and
have changed our fears of him to something
like very respectful imitation and affection,
But the comet is almost as little understood
as in the days Of the popos bull, and it is n
very small fraction of mankind that has lost
its fears for it. Perhaps it is regarded with
as much awe now by tine scientific If
less fear, as it was by the vul-
gar n thousand years back We
name them, classify them, calculate thor
orbits and predict their returns, build up
conflicting theories of their construction, and
childish speculations as to their origin yet
gaze upon each new conner with Quickened
throb of tho heart and whllo gazing in
wonder that time does not lessen, sadly con-
fess that time does not increase our knowl-
edge or our understanding OF these mys-
terious and still portentouB visitors Perhaps
Edgar A. Poe was not far wrong after all
when he said that comets were the lightning
A
flashes of the cOsmc heavens"
One strange popularity of comet is tho
fact that generally, if not invariably, its tail
follows 10 as it approaches the sun and goes
before 1t when il recedes from thesu Some
times its tail is curved toward the region
whittier IL Is tonding, sometimes IL forms a
right angle with a line drawn from the sun
through the center of tho comet The tail
of the comet of l1i4 formed nearly quarter
of circles that of 1859 was curved like n
Turkish saber. Sometimes the same comet
has several tails. That of lTlI had no less
than six, which appeared and disanpoarcd in
few days. The comet of 1928 hud for goy-
oral days two tails, one extending toward the
sun, and the other in tho opposite direction.
Sometimes comets divergc widely from their
regular paths, and in some cases take u now
and different orbit altogether Comets and
tho planet Jupiter seem tn bo deadly enc.
mics, the giant planet hitting them with dis
Astr0us force whenever ho gets au oppOr-
tunity. BY some strange fatality no is con-
stantly in their way, and serves rs a
perpetual stumbling block to them. Tho re-
markablo comet of 17i0, says Ilcrcholl,
which Lexell found TO reyolvo in n
moderate cllipso in period Of iivo
years, actually got entanged among the
satellites of Jupiter and was thrown out OF
orbit by the attraction of that planet, and has
not been heard of since It WIS literally
kicked out of doors by the indignant planet
as an ill-bred intruder, and 50 humiiutcd
that it has never shown its face since. This
summary treatment Of comets by Jupiter has
convinced astronomers that collision of tho
earth and a comet VOuld bg nttpulul with