The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1892-11-26
heavens.


Years ago rance Of a comet
in the Heavens wouid have been take,
as the p)rtent of dire catastrophe TO th,
Inhabitants of the earth-the harbingel
-! famine, drought, pestilerce, flood;
/ and the like. Nowadays the coming Ui
d SKY tramp is almost wholly
disassociAted from superstitious ideas
ana visitor OF this kind is looked upon
as an object Oi curiosity by the masses
aud subieo. for study by the scientific
man. Thus, with the announcement
made by Observer Holmes some days
| ago of comet stranger among those now
to be seen, there :iA2e been uous o! the
wild pTedIcLiDI6 OF t~1-sc0re years ago
whGa comet dashed into view. This
lAte conner is o; peculiar interest TO
astronomers all cver the world. For
many OF ihein Dsiilve it is uuJ :. new
body, but She return OF BielA's comet,
which was closely studied in previous
yeas. Each nigh5 now, hen the Sag
is cloudless, hundreds Of telescopes are
being leveIied at the visitor, which is
dashing along st the Tremendous rate
| calculated FOR these peculiar bodies.
But the astronomers, it seems, are
beginning to be puzzleu by tte strange
conduct of the comet III Audronsda,
which they at first supposed to ba B:eias
comet, and whica was ADVERTISE, 10
give us q tino pyroGeoauic display on
the night OF The 275h. Professor Lewis
Boss Of the Ludley Observatory at
Albany, n. Y, is now reported as say
ing that he is satisfied that the celestial
wandcIer with the nebulous caudal
appoudage is not only not .hc Biela
comet, but is not even travelling in the
track OF tie Bieia comet, as was at first
supposed by some astronomers. More.
over, Prof. Boss says that while lie has
not been able as yet TO Tx the orbit OF
approa ching the earth at the rate OF
700 miles q second. and beng only
II 900 600 miles away Friday night.
the met is actually going away from
tue earth, and is now about $50 600, 600
mills away. AS Tar as he can ascertain
at present this coinet is IA new one and Is
unknown to ASTRONOMERS.
On the other hand, Professor Swift, OF
Rochester, telegraphs the following
under date of Sunday: The Biela
comet was seen last evening at the
Warner Observatory for the fourth time.
Il has since discovery moved but very
little, and IS it is increasing in size, and
is approaching the earth CIR nearly SO.
Though very much larger it is certainly
fainter than when first seen here. l
predict that it will increase so greatly
that when in parigee it will from
diffusion become SO faiut as to be
invisible 1t is making faint etfort 10
throw out tail. But as Biela's comet
has always been nearly "a tailsSs comet
it will hardly depart lrom It's usual
habit. As the comet has not been seen
before in forty years, though it has ::
six-and six-tenths-yeaTs period, its
path may differ considerably from its
former path. Statements, therefore,
that it Or its TAI! will strike tie earth
are premature. 1t has been i. mystery
where this formerly we'll hahaYed comet
has been hiding ioT forty years, and now
its unexpected return may teach us
something new about cometary
astronomy. TGis comet is about %
degrees southwest of the great neou'e
in Andromeda, aud is very slowly NOV
ing in south westerly direction. 1t
was discovered by Mr. Edwin Holmes,
of london, on November g.