The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-02-25
times Been Mistaken.

| New York, Feb. 24.-If Perrine's
| comet, which is said to be travelling To-
wards the earth's orbit at the rate OF
twenty miles or SO a second-about l.
| eco, 900 miles a day should hit US
which is not likely, there would proba-
bly, be a fine display of pyrotechnics.
| Though the comet may be as big as the
earth, or half dozen times bigger. and
although its speed should increase 10
100000 600 miles a day. nobody need
worry about it. Its all right, the as
tronomers say.
In 1861 a comet a great deal bigger
than the one now coming toward US.
with tail a hundred million miles
long, and travelling great deal faster
than this one, swished its long tail
clear around US, enveioped US with il.
but didn't do US a bit of harm. Gar
rett p. Serviss. the astronomer, talked
today about the possibilities of col
lision.
Il haven't seen this comet yet" he
said, land all I know of it is what
have read in the papers. 1t might be
as large as our earth, but that wOuidn';
be very large for a comet. 1t probably
is not coming toward US, as the dis
patches say, for if IL is, then there is no
possibility of its hitting US. We are
travelling nineteen miles a second, and
by March IA, the date they talk about
the comet arriving, We shall be millions
of miles from where we are Row.
ITO hit us i: must be travelling to-
ward the spot-about 400, 100000 miles
FIR m where we shall be on March Il
n hA~ ~ h al -
have been made about the present posi-
ton of the comet, it's velocity and its
course are exact depends on whether
the observations have been good. 1t is
not likely that they are exact, for 4
comet is hazy body and It is difficult
tc get good observations
We'll, assuming that the comet is
correctly observed and will lit US on
March IA, what will happen"
We'll" said Mr.. Serviss, "there
would be a fine display of fireworks in
all probability"
What would become OF U.S."
1--WE would probably be out looking
at the fireworks and enjoying the spec
tacle."
And that's all the damage a body as
Zig or bigger than the earth would do if
it hit the earth?"
That's all the DAMAGE a body of
the nature Of a comet would do" said
Mr.. Serviss. "A comet, you know, is
not solid body, like the earth. 1t IS
made up of minute bodies. We Nigh:
1T with dust cloud. While in
Size it compares with the earth. there is
no comparison in the solidity of the
two.
IF a body as large as the earth is
disintergrated, and, falling, spreads
over the face of the earth, wouldn't the
dust be pretty deep when it had all set
tied ?"
Don't you see" said Mr.. Serviss.
''that while in bulk or space it occupies
the room of the earth. and in that sense
is as big as the earth, IL is not packed
solid like the earth. So comet as
large as the earth might not contain
more than enough matter to make a
layer one ten thousaudth OF milimetre
deep If spread over the earth.
IF a comet were made of solid
chunks of matter the result would be
different There is just one possibility
Of unpleasantness, however, in a comet
hitting the earth. That is the subse-
quent effects on the atmosphere. l.
would seem likely that the atmosphere
would be filled with gaseous matter and
If the comet was very big one, made
up in part of gases, as they are. il
might introduce matter into the atmos-
prehe that would be deleteriouS to
health. 1t might give us the grip or
rredispose US TO the attack of other |
jiseas es."
SWISHED BY A COMETS TAIL
Speaking of comets that had struck |
the earth, or had come near IL, Mr.. |
Serviss told Of the comet of 1861. which |
swished US with its tail. The skies were |
at night. There were no /
1ther effects.
In 1862, he said, a comet was supposed |
70 have grazed us. 1t is supposed that
/ piece OF Biela's comet struck US, too.
8iela's comet was a big one. 1t disap-
peared in 1s40 and was lost for a long
line. Then it came back in two pieces
double. These pieces kept getting
arther away and farther apart. In 1872
hey disappeared. There was a cOincI-
lent, brilliant meteroic display.