The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1884-01-17
The cn,nai nr 1ss.


For nearly two months unclouded
sunsets have presented phenomenon
SO strange, beautiful and utterly I'M
recorded in the annals of experience
that judgment-the result of compar-
lsons of ideas or phenomena-and
synthetical thought have labored dill
gently to account satisfactorily for
the appearances.
In the star of Sunday an editorial
gave brief outline Of the eXplana-
ton. Therein it was set forth that
since about November 20 last the
earth has been travelling on her
orbit through an arc of cometic
matter, the perpendicular of which
Is probably about 100000 or
100000 of miles. the comet
and the earth travelling in the same
direction. Now, as the comet came
from southwark and described AN arc
of $40 degreesbetwse Sept em Der Z,
1882, aud May 20, 1883, the last obser-
walton made, it is clear that it must be
long-period comet; that its motion
must be slow; that its tenuity can on
ly be expressed in terms OF the lightest
gas; that it has no axial motion; that
It's light is mostly due TO reflection,
,
that it wanted the distinctive coma,
or radiance due to inherent heat; that
its tail was faint and OF enormous
length, showing that its composition
lacked density; in short, that it Was Il
com paratiVely new comet.
Making its perihelion about July /,
1883, AMI moving, as 1t did, from
southwest, it must have Jagged, a
| portion Of its substance trailing along
the orbit Of the earth, or, more proper
ly, enveloping the plane of the ecliptic
to the northeast on descending node,
Our coTteous correspondent, Mir. Eos
| ter, whose communication we print
this morning. seems to think that the
comet moved in the plane Of our Or
bit when in fact no cones was ever
| observed which even approached it,
and most of them moved in parabolas
" hich are from 70 to 80 degrees op-
posed to our orbit. lie has the Old
orthodox idea that the tail is some
thing outside the comet, when it is
merely pencil Of light showing the
spheres semi-diameter or radius.
Under the conditions herein speci.
| fed the tail" would be directly on
the earth, or 60 little inclined south
ward that it could not be seen, as il
| would be obllterated by the suns
rays in daytime and at night we wonld
be turned away from its nuclus, catch.
ing only glimpse of its presence al
sunset, when favorable angle of re.
Election would be presented and the
brilliant ruddy rays be diverged from
their linear course.
No comet can approach very near
to the sun. Heat Is the great repel.
liant, and keeps u5 at our 93,000,O0(
miles distant from the sun. The spe
cific gravity of the earth Is so great
and the pull of affinity 80 strong that
we would fall on the suns surface
unless impeded by something. What
is that something? The enormous dy
manic repulsion of the heat rays ema
mating from the suns Philosophers
A comet is so diffused that the suns
heat rays pass through it unobstruct
ed, until very close to the suns body
when the heat force can exert Itself
and drive the comet away faster anC
on larger arc than it approached
The idea IF the suns side receiving al
impact" from the nucleus of comet
through which stars can be seen, Il
somewhat illogical.
The best theory is that one already
exploited, of the passage of the eartf
through portion of the body of tn
comet of 1882.