The Republican journal., 1896-03-12
The Republican Journal Thursday Morning March H. 1896
The Comet.

To THE EDITOR OF THE JOURNAL: Once
more the brilliant astronomers have got
comet ready to strike the earth. We, who
had our childhood so many times disturbed
by these calamity prophets, have learned the
need Of guarding children and others IN
learned against these calamity mongers.
AS children many of us have actually suf-
fered because no one took the trouble to tell
us that all such stuff is without foundation,
and that no comet ever did run into planet
or star since the beginning of creation, so
far as is known.
But few facts are known about comets.
One is that the tail always points from the
sun, whether the comet is going toward the
sun or going from it. The appearance of the
comets tail is as though the light of the sun
was cut off and thus allowed us to see the
myriad of stars beyond, which when thus
exposed to our view are a solid blaze of
light This we call the comets tail, but it
is due to the changed sunlight that has pass
ed through the comet. The comet appears
to be an electric ball that comes periodically
to charge the sun with the energy that it is
constantly digesting and giving off to the
planets. After the coming of each comet
the world feels new vigor. The Greeks said
a comet was the sign of war, which was
probably true, for what would give renewed
gor to a warlike people would result in
war. The comets clearly bring life and
energy, but civilized nations are generally
able to work it off without war. If no
comets should come to charge the sun the
sun would in time lose its power to give life
and energy to the worlds that revove around
it. This, of course, is only theory but it is
necessary conclusion if we reason from the
| facts known.
| Once it was commonly believed that the sun
was a ball of fire slowly burning up only to
| keep this little world warm. Now people are
| looking for other causes of the heat and light
upon this and other worlds If we conclude
that this earth draws magnetic rays from the
sun, and that those rays produce light and
| heat wherever they strike our atmosphere
and thai the light and heat on each of the
| planets is dependent upon the depth and
density Of its atmosphere, and that if we
We're seventy-tive million miles nearer the
sun or seven hundred million miles farther
Off our earth would neither be hotter OF
colder, because the ether in space is per
| feet conductor of the suns rays. If we take
this view of it, the heat and light of our world
| lose much of their mystery and we cease tC
think that Venus is out in the cold or that
Mercury is boiling and frying in the heat
| and we begin to feel that the Creator is
| treating all worlds about alike.
Under this theory we can easily ieieve
hotter than this earth is unless it has 3
deeper and denser atmosphere that appears
to be heated and lighted by other rays, per
haps from the fixed stars, so-called. Per
that is charged from time to time by the
comets, and that in throwing its rays to the
planets it heats and lights the atmosphere
that is between itself and each of the planets
places on the sun at times. The spots we
have seen in the sun do not quite agree witt
this theory, but there are many little facts
that point to the conclusion that the sun is
heated on about the same principle that the
earth is, and that the comets are helpful tC
the energy of the sun.
One thing is certain, the whole great sys
tenn is wisely, economically, grandly ant
perfectly managed, and all fears of collision
are groundless. c. S. GRIFFIN