Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1893-01-20
COMET AND METEOR.
PHENOMENA WHICH MAY BE
SEEN IN THE HEAVENS.
Comets, After scurryinS Through
y. Space. Go to Pieces and Become
Observation-Disclosures Between
Dietcors and Mctcoritcs.
THE history of shooting star,

begins, according to the latest theors,
with the history of some comet. Just
what comet Is and where it comes
from it is hard to say. Its origin is not
known. But it is known that it is an
object which comes into the solar system
from space under attraction of tho sun,
which moves around the SUI and then
goes OIL into space, perhaps never to
return. The question whether or not it
will return depends upon the orbit in
which it moves. If the orbit Is an
,lipsc it will surely come back; if it is
parabola or byperboa it will not return.
How is it now that comets differ so in
their orbits9 Why should some return
md some not return?
When Il comet comes into our system
It Is likely to pass near one of tho larger
planets. There is, then, another ut.
tracing force. IL the motion OF the comet
is accelerated thereby the comets orbit
becomes surely hypcrbolic, aud it goes of
never to return. But if the comets mo-
lion is retarded, its orbit is cliptical and
it will surely leturn. Elca time com.
ct meets a planet under such conditions
its orbit becomes smaller and the time of
its return shorter. Comets, then, which
would not ordinarily stay in the system
are kept here By the attractive power Of
one OF the planets This is called the
"capture" theory
Each of the larger planets, Jupiter,
Saturn, Uranus und Neptune, have
'family" of comets which they have at
tracted and whose orbits lie near their
own. All the short-pcriod comets, those
having periods of from three to eight
years, belong to Jupiter's family. There
are sixteen of them Including Biela's.
The earth and the other lesser planets
have no captured comets to their credit,
but their attraction has changed the
orbits of several. The periodic comets,
then, are moving about the sun like the
planets, except that their orbits are
cllIptical instead of circular or nearly
go.
In bulk comet is tho largest of &C.
lestial objects, but its density is not
great This is shown by the fact that
no comet has been known to alter the
movement Of any Of the planets, even in
the slightest degree, although Its own
course has been greatly changed by them
The comet exercises a certain attractive
force, but Its mass is SO small that the
effect upon the earth and other planets
is not felt. Some one has said that
comet properly packed could be carried
in hat box. This, Of course, is IN
cXaggcretion, bat the idea holds.
The particles of u comet are supposed
to be extremely small, some say not
bigger tnan Il pinhcad on an average and
the largest masses only few feet in
diameter. These PARTICLES are only loose
ly joined together and scattered over an
immense territory. 1t is not hard to
understand then that the fate of comet
is eventually to go to pieces, to spread
its particles out so much that, no longer
attracted by one another thcy do not net
in unison, but each for itself pursucs It's
way about the sun. The longer comet
has been in the system the more arc its
PARTICLES spreal out. The comet event
ually ceases to be comet aud becomes
simply n swarm of meteors. A large
proportion of comet and meteor swarms
more in or near the plane of the planets,
and hence it follows that the earth
crosses or passes near the paths of these
swarms every year in its journey around
the sun, and there are at such times
showers of shooting stars.
Only one comet has thus far been seen
to break up-that discovered in 1926 by
Biela, an Austrian officer. 1t had a
period of 60 years and its orbit ap-
preached close to that of the earth. In.
deed, at its return in 1882 panic known
as the 'comet scare" was started in
southern France by the announcement
that it was going to come in collision
with the earth. The earth passed the
critical point about month too soon for
a collision. however. In 1889 the comet
was not seen on account of its uufavor.
able position in the sky. In 1916 it ap.
peared as usual, but soon afterward split
in two parts, which travelled side by
side. In 1852 both comets were seen
travelling along together but million
and 4 half miles apart. Since then
neither has been seen, although both
ought to have returned six times. On
the night of November 27, 1872, how
ever, when the earth was crossing the
track of the lost comet there was a won
derful meteoric shower. The same thing
happened in 1886 when the earth once
more crossed the comets path, and there
was no longer much doubt that the
comctlc origin of meteoric showers had
been demonstrated. The meteors from
this swarm are called Andromcndas from
the constellation in the sky from which
they seem to radiate. There is con-
siderable display from them every year
about November 81.
The Leonids which radiate from the
constellation here and fall about the 18th
of November are also supposed to be
from disintegrated comet. This swarm
furnished the finest meteoric shower ever
witnessed in 1888. They seemed to he
a huge umbrella. Fully $500 are
estimated to have fallen within six hours.
A curious fact is that, Wit. one excep-
ton, no mass has been known to reach
the earth during mcteoric shower. On
November 81, 1885, piece of meteoric
iron fell at Mazapil, IN Northern Mexico,
| during the shower of Audromedas. This