New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-01-31

after IT appeared that the August met ors were follow
followed ct ier coo"sS 90 4 oeoans evids It at once
that these shooting sIars when taey come
how Tdon't know WHITTIER they are their sisters.
Cousins uunts they arr either the debris o. co ,s,s
sheep, or the comet in forming Itself icit
portion OF its ma'er d not collected
in the mass. and thit follows along ~ Tvs
track This is certauly rue that several hocks OF me
tcOrs follow rgnl aons IN the tracks or comets niVhs
OF miles behind them. and never preceding the ~ it
CURIOUS THINGS ABOUT COMETS.
This brings me to rhe second part Of my lecture-ihe
comets. which are IN respects paradoxical and
in all respecs most interesting They are
the huGest TO bulk. and about tbe
insg acant the real quantityof matter Is
concerned of all the planetary bodies They arc scan
dial TO the physicists. for cannot account TOT
great many OF their strange doirgs nor Tor tle way
In which their heads and tails are formed aneI o
Though they are the largest bodies hho"n ~
tue solar system yet Td .Ss "nosct to
the law OF gravt lnon ey eyiljneeS OF 70 ,usys
force though seflumnous, yet tn Snne py ren'V st
there is no satisfactory hypothess whe
tunes was that they were formed 81 nply by eIhhla,
lions from the EARN and thot t the nne! moon
THIS was before the time OF Tyclo Brahe Seneca
to have ID glimpse OF tue truth he thong ~ my
See c Rsrnapd in 0 immense Orbits but be
exceptions IN mat idea, assuming tAom 70 oe Ides
It beo1me easy to account for tncr malignant effect
the oar'n He ssi S,m, sp SaiDx s. .nS
the great OF tLe earth being OF hner clay T0ala
suffer and that Was .9e oas S,aap pESSas
Then came the astrological eX panaiion that taoy were
sent by the Deity to prsagc afl ctlon Ing ,uoS
men on the way 10 the upper world aau
that the earth suffered from removal OF their prayers
ana tLst tins way that tho comets "Or''eu
As to the ambrr of these bodies there $50 on our
n tat rftIn
there we're 23. 1900 to 100, II. from 100 70
$500 only .T% 1SSS 1880 o. h a%s
v,y favored in tue last four or five years AS IHr
sseSp S Sn1 Gy 9
be weon 1894 and 1898. lie an lnveterato comet
hunter ana IN letter a FREUD ewas the death Of nls
vile because &c prevented him from attending al
the time to comet n ,na wG nTn,ts rveSo !
Brahe showed that obey beyond the moon BY obser
vatIOns ut Prague, IN Germany, anu ~ nls s'.tion
apart Keper showed tat these ats Went through
the cyslahe sp"eres o. Euaokcs there hAo oeen ~uJ
suen tnings
THE ORBITS or COMETS.
In 1880 It first that the orbits of most OF
the pAraboLc. / snail not dwell upon mat
except to remind that paraboic orbit means that
the DJdy moving In IL has under the attraction OF
the sun distance. goes arouni 10 ana
goes OF again. never return. When We say that
1t moves In paraoola as Il poses the
SUM- we know that 90 not tell tho
exact truth what mean IA trat the orbit 10 80 nearly
piraboio that observations Will not enaoe "a u
distinguish II from pardhOlh We know u - moving a
little 0t too owy for paraboa, OF too List
little bit too slowly 1t VII tBcn a. sorlDr al
oval orb Of very great .ength aud pass on great as
7 turn again aud again; Also we kno" t."t
ID comes toward the SUI witt hOmu
sensible velocity OF Is owu. Then 1t will g. on 40
slisnty different direction 70 mat IN w"ic u cana
n. and viii move IN a a. perhOa- Ihetc are hsii
dozen ina have oern I0nnd " 60 ~ Ihat wa,
ooe frum the audience wrote 70 IA" last "ceA asA
ing II there prOJiic comets. Thcro are nio
ts around the ,Ia IN orbits tnht are "yP'FD nc
o. the 200 comets Tn1S' of Sfos o nIv Yoye IN
sensInly elliptic orots, going round and tQlhH
conlnuiy. Now, how Is that lacy are clvtIye,
The shore psnod comet ~ Encke n4s pcriod of ttoe
years and a nall hOOOuy knOwH precisely WAC II son
PERIODS of Rom nve To eight years Oh Va ~.
all nave tHe iurtLer ond o their otDls c4oc 70 vac
orbit OF Jupiter. what Is called thr ap lehon tnnk
say t"at Jupiter IA res pOhhiDio of thhi' nc s
graf stumbling block Ia tue way OF oJDetsi ho
captures good many aed , " ns ,o1 |
hundred tunes SAID tne aphrliOu Of ther urOlis IL |
near Jupiter. Lacy w,re near Jupiter u one
tame. wneu taos were brought INTO he sJste anu tat
system. mat Ia opened ~ tao cOD o. 1870 known A.
Lrxels II went around tue sun few tihes wtIp tIe
very near TO Jupiter. or. aceordinF 10 |
some. passed bct6ern him and his satellites
Whether the comet Jupiter. or-as thc boys say
" went kong" I oon't know. Ihen tncro arc two |
comets which periOJs 0f Octwceh twelve ana nteoH
years and tbcir apheon lies near 70 Tue oIot Sl
We believe u be respOnsibe for them inca th.fe
three cOncts-Uns Of wiou has perou o. thrtf-
three years--wnIoa 20 very near 10 Uranus anu ne
win periods OF seyeutyhye years, which are |
due 10 tho planet OF Neptune We can not |
speak win much pDsitiyeness Rbout thcm |
may saw however. that tIe OF tIe couiets arc
ldeTsloOd. ais come 30 consider lac bodies
that No feel ourselves Ia complete |
snail be- p OF that Oy citis !DU zee Tor
yourselves what sort u things tney are.