Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1892-12-08
PUZZLES THE ASTRONOMERS.
But Little Known About the Latest Heav-
emily Visitor.

Chicago Special. 1t is pretty well es-
tablished now," said Professor George
Hall, director of Chicago University
Observatory today, "that this comet
which is claimed by Biela is not
Biela's. From all that l have been
able to gather about the eobservations
made am satisfied that it is rapidly
receding from the earth and not ap-
preaching us. This is most puzzline
comet and very little is known about
it. A great deal of nonsense has been
published in various papers about it,
but / have here a very interesting
communication from Professor Kelley
director OF the Allegheny observatory.
The result of an analysis is all the
more puzzling. 1t did not show the
usual hydro-carbon bands of comets,
but instead gave a spectrum of simply
reflected light. There is no telling
then, anything about the nature OF
the material of which the body is com.
posed. 1t has no tail at all. 1t is
roundish in body and its color is not
as red as some persons have said.
Gone of the most remarkable feat
ures about comets in general is the re-
pelling action of the sun on the tail.
One would naturally suppose that the
tail would stream after the head as
might the tail of kite, but this not
true. Such action would suppose a
resisting medium through which body
it travels when there is none, The
sun acts with the attraction of gravi-
tation on the mass of the comet, and
also with some other force on it's sur
face or volume. By this force, which
no one understands, although some
have called it an electrical tail, a
comet is repelled from the sun at all
times. In approaching the sun the
tail streams behind the nucleus and
in receding from the sun the tail pre-
cedes the nucleus. The comet can be
seen readily in the evening at nine
o'clock almost directly overhead with
an opera glass or a field glass, but
there will be danger of confusion, for
| there is the nebula in Andromeda that
may be mistaken tor the comet. The
hazy looking object to the north is
| the nebula, and that hazy looking OBJ
ject to the south is the comet"
Albany special: Dudley observa-
tory has kept up it's vigorous scientific
attack on the new comet with excel.
lent results. In speaking of his work
tonight, Professor Bois said:
THAT the Holmes comet is not iden-
tical with the Biela comet was settled
several days ago. But there is not
yet sufficient material to determine
the exact orbit OF the stranger. Still
my calculations have progressed far
enough to show that this comet is
more than $50, 900, 900 and less than
16O, 900, 900 of miles from the earth,
and that this distance is slowly in
creasing. These facts may be regarded
as established.
| observations at the Dudley observ-
atory show that the comet is decreas-
ing in size, not only in appearance,
but in actual size, the matter OF which,
however, is dispersed like an exceed.
ingly light cloud o. dast. So thin is
the matter, or so great the distance
between the individual particles, that
the faintest stars sre seen through the
comet almost up to the center. The
comet has now a short tail. L want
to repeat that while ten days age
there were twenty good reasons why
this comet should be identical witt
Biela's, considering the information
then had, there is not one reason fol
thinking SO now.