Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1894-12-30

rr,. why OF sssuicsi,y Il pu. a, II, rsri.
hciion roint Ieh. a.

khAs WHY or crnWc<ity - buc ~ tt ierf-
hoiion Point reh. a.
Enokc's comet Is returning 10 pcrihe.
lion. Ii was discovered ON Nov travel. |
Ing toward tho eun In tho constellation
Auuarius. A telescope " needed to SEQ ~ |
When seen, Il appears 40 a meo wisp Of |
nehuiosity, and at its brightest Il will |
hardly 30 vislhie 10 the naked eyu, yet its
return Is an event Of high Importance 20
astronomers, and through Astronomers TO
tho advance OF human knowledee.
1t il due ut its rcrIholicn point on Fob,
4, after which " viii retreat into space
neain. AZ every step In It's progress until
II has turned the goal End faded Into this
distance 10 will be closely watched. TIA
galt win hc measured. Ats pccnliaritica
will 10 noted, and na Ear uS tho astruno'
mcrs leo canccrned the earth VIII become
Kind OF JUDGES stand whore neoks nrc
cranod ard eyes arc strained aud fractions
OF necond loom gigantic as the little
ootirscr stretches for the wire.
Tho extraordinary interest IN this return
OF Eneke's conivt arises from two sources,
In the frat place, tho comet hoRnn many
years ago TO exhibit marked rcculinrity
IN It's ratio Of motion Its period from ono
periholion passage TO the next Ia about aA
years, but thia ported hns hocn slightly
and gradually shortening over since tho
discovery VI tho comet In iiSs. upto 1908
tho rate OF ehortcuing was uboutNls hours
on cnch revolution, and tho conclusion
was that tho comet suffered a resistance
from some medium pcrvading the space
through which II trnvnlod The ilrst ~.
suit Of such a resistance wonld he to no
tArd tho comets advance In Its orbit and
force Il n little closer TO tho Hun. but hn'
Ing nearer tho sun 10 would necessarily
move faslur aud thus would arrive at enoli
return tfldc earlier al ncrihelion. a..
tronomors had hardly begun To attack tho
problems arising out OF tho existence Of o
rtslsting medium IN rpncc, which tho mo.
tion OF Encko'a comet scouied to domun-
s,ratc, before n surrriaing change occurred
IN tho rate at which tho comet quickcnod
its speed, This chango was iirTt noticed
In 1895, nj which time tho comets nccol'
Grafton ioll Oh to about ono'halt It's for
mcr amount, and tho now ratio has hocn
maintained ever since
Such an alteration OF ratio is inccnslst
ont with tho Idea Of n general rsisting
medium occupying space, but there Is no
dodaing tho fact that something inter
fcrcs with tho motion OF Enoke's coinut
Two suFgcstlons have been inado. one,
duo TO Professor Young, II that VI rcgu'
larry recurring encounter " thu comet
with n cloud Of moiuorlc nnttori tho other,
put forth by Mr., w, 4. Lynn, Ia that the
attraction of tho asteroids, near whose
thronglng ofhita tho comet pnsaes whom
most distant from tho eun, may DO thu
source OF disturbance,
II Enckos comet were a massive body,
these objects would not DO noticed. II "
becauso tho comet IL GO Insignificant q
mote, flying like An airy spirit among thu
planets, that ~ IL nhio 10 toll ue somo'
thing Of subtle forcca and roaiatnncca
which the pondorous earth would ride
down unnoticcd
Tho second reason for tho particular In
terost awakened by this return of thc
comet Nv TINT on ita Last previous ,ldt "a
tho sun, In 1921, IL passed comparatively
alone TO the planet Mercury, This eneo'
Of that approach must manifest itself also
IN tho colnet'n motion. Tho great Jupiter
Ia accustomed 20 sond comets hithor and
tbithor at his Will when they get WITHIN
HIS sphere OF attraction, Mcronry cnnno'
do that, both because lt IL much smaller
than Jupiter and becRusn u IL IN tho IN
mcdinta psekenoa Of tho dominating sun
bnt lta attraction Ia sufficient, nyyorthe
icas. 70 cause perroptlblo change 10 ih'
eomot'u orbit. Now, this change IA a meas
urc OF tho nttrartiye powNr, or mass, O
the planet producing H. lIwiii tenfor'
giyo n clow TO tho mass Of Mercury, oon
oerning which astronomers are still pui'
or lees In doubt Tho mass Of NJ eur,
being nsoorlained Other related faota ar
gained for scionoo, and thun a little wan
| derlng comet which, II ~ could bo oaptnr
ed and condensed into a solid form, Nigh
not bo tho largest exhibit ina metuoolog
zeal museum, proves to be an explorer o
intarpiAnaiary epaco. each OF Whose Jour
neya into tho unknown brings onfiubman
Of knowledge to inuB.--Garrett r. bersls'
IN Eow York Bun.