Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1883-06-13
Il DEADLY COMET.

Franklin.
Il DEADLY COMET.
The Probability of a Co,,1aagration in the
Sam That May Burn AH Life off the
Earth.
The idea that the comet of 1880 may
be identical, not only with that of 1843,
but with that of 1868, the period having
been reduced from IT'S years to thirty
seven, was suggested at the Astronomi-
cal Society in April, 1880, by Mr.. Marth,
a mathematician of great skill, and well
known for the zeal with which he at
lacks problems relating to the move
ments of the satellites of Saturn and
Mars. He says:
"Supposing the comet of 1913 is the
same as that of 1868, it would not be
v"ry wonderful that it should reappear
after thirty-seven years, instead of IT'S
years. The velocity of body moving
i'll the solar system depends simply on
its distance from the sun, and on the
period of revolution. IF the velocity is
reduced by resisting medium, there
VIII be a reduction of the period, and
there is nothing whatever unreasonable
Ill The supposition that, however weak
the corona may be, its resistance would
have very great effect upon the mo-
ton of the comet which rushes through
it; SO that I should not be at all sur
prised if it should turn out that the
comet of 1880 is the same as the comet
of 1913 and that of 1868, and that its
revolution has been so much affected
that possibly it may return in, say,
seventeen years.
Now, if this theory of the comet Of
1850 be the true one, we are somewhat
more nearly interested in the matter
than we are in most theories respecting
comets. If already the comet expert
ences such resistance in passing through
the corona when at it's nearest to the
sun that its period undergoes marked
dimin1tion, the effect must of necessity
be increased at each return, and after
few, possibly one or two, circuits the
comet will be absorbed by the sun.
It will be remembered that Sir Isaac
Newton recognized the possibility that
it might happen to comet, having such
al orbit as that of the comet of 1880
generally known as Newton's comet),
and that he had considered the conse-
quences might be full of danger to this
earth. Yet he only dwelt on the danger
arising, as he judged. from the addition
of SO much fuel to the solar fires. We
now know that the real danger lies, not
from the absorption of so much matter
as may exist in comets head and nu-
cleus, but from the conversion of the
momentum of the swiftly-rushing mass
of the comet into heat, the thermal
equivalent of it's mechanical energy.
have for my own part been long of
opinion that the periodical increase of
such stars as Mira (the Wonderful starr
in the Whale, and Eta, of the Argo,
is due to the motion of some large comet,
followed by meteoric rain about
these two stars. I have indicated fully
in my pheasant Ways in Science . the
reasons which induce me to believe that
the outburst of the so. called thew star"
in the Northern Grown in 1866 is to be
similarly explained. Without saying
that I consider there is absolute danger
of similar outburst in the case of our
own sun when the comet of 1S43 shall
be absorbed by him Ga result which will,
in my opinion, most certainly take
place., I will go SO far as to express my
belief that if ever the day is to come
when " the heavens shall dissolve in
fervent heat" the cause of the catastro-
phe will be the downfall of some great
comet on the sun.
believe the passage even of the head
of comet over the earth would do lit
tie harm, for the simple reason that the
velocity with which the meteoric masses
forming the head would travel at the
earth's distance from the sun would be
too small to lead to any very mischiev-
Gus result If the shower of meteoric
masses were very dense, the meteors
themselves being of the larger sort, and
so able to break their way through the
earth's atmosphere, the shower might
kill few Of the earth's inhabitants, or
even many hundreds. But there would
be no widespread destruction of life.
It would be altogether otherwise,
believe, II a.comet of the larger sort fell
into or were absorbed by the sun. The
danger would be in the suns own
weight, not in. the comet or its attend
ant train. The bodies forming the head,
nucleus and train of the comet would
fall IN immense numbers, with enor-
nous velocity, and each with mighty
momentum on the suns fiery surface,