The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1899-01-06
WAYS of Comets.

The November meteOrs, of which so
| much was said, and so little seen, were
the outriders Of one of those splendid pa
| geants that occur three times a century
| The periodicity of these displays is at
| tributed to the fact that they travel cease
lessly in circle about the sun, the cir
cumnavigation IF which takes them thir-
ty-three years and a fraction. The length
of the pageant is such that the outriders
are year or two ahead Of the vanguard
But ultimately they all get there, if get
ting there can be said to be. During the
last procession which passed here the sky
was as full of aerolites as a snowstorm
is full of flakes. The attraction which
we have for them is slight. 1t is as we'll
perhaps. People acquainted with them
and their kin say that every day we enjoy
the visit of millions of bolides, which,
were they not consumed by the friction
Of the atmosphere, would necessitate the
use of impervious umbrellas. The moon
has no protection of that kind and when
| it is considered how they must pound
| there it seems but natural that from
| Luna lunacy should be derived. But the
point is elsewhere. Before the present
procession there ran, as herald perhaps, Il
little comet. Previously there was an
other. Anteriorly there were more.
| thus tar this year there have been seven.
| Mhat they are has always been a delight
astronomer, declared them to be inhab-
| tied. After all. why not? Yet if 80. are
not their inhabitants to be enyied !?
| Fancy the delight of journeying not over
| the world, but over the universe, of Jun
| keting through the Milky Way. of shoot
| w0nderlands Of space.
Maupertlus' ldea was not accepted. 1t
was too poetic. Yet, it comets are not in
habited. the excellence of their influence
IS not disputed any. more. The wines of
comet years are just so much velvet.
Then. too, the alarm which they used to
| create has vanished with them. Ignatius
| they frightened. He wrote quite thrill
ing account of what would happen should
we meet in collision. Button main
tanned that the earth was fragment
which furious comet had struck from
the sun. But that is ancient history.
Recently it has been estimated that the
weight of comet 100000 miles long
would not burden an infant. Not lons
ago one was seen to approach and envelop
Jupiter: The latter did not mind in the
least: We may even assume that it liked
1t. Apropos to which there is announced
as in preparation chart of the heavens,
which when complete will show the posi-
ton OF every star up to the fourteenth
magnitude as readily as town on a man.
The possibility Of making it photography
suggested. 1t was found that the camera
could retain stars which the telescope
could not intercept; One and ALL they ag-
gresate thus far about 6O,OOO,OOO. How
many more there are Imagination is in
competent to surmise. There are stars
50 remote that their light takes thousands
of-years to reach lis. There are others so
remote that before their light has reached
us they have ceased to be. Beyond them
are other stars, other systems, other
worlds. Wherever in its WEAKNESS mag
nation would set limit there is space
begun. The subject might interest those
whom their own Importance bothers.
Said Tennyson: '"What are we but bick-
ering gnats in the glare of million, mil
lion of suns :'-Edgar Saltus in Collier
| Weekly