The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-09-06
THE END OF THE WORLD.
Encke's Comet SnId to Indicate the
Fate of Our Globe


A recent telegram from America an
nounces the detection OF Encke's comet.
on its twenty-nfth return since the year
ISIS. when the little comet discovered by
Fons AT MarseilIss was found by Encke to
Doe moving ia an orbit which brings it
back 10 the neigbborhcod Of the sun once
III three and half years. The details Of
the computation of fits path are sufficient
~ uneNcitiug- unless some sign Of an ir-
regularity is found which cannot for the
moment De explained. And this is Just
what happened from the very first in the
case Of Eucke's comet Its case exhibited
an abnormal sy mptom which persisted at
every return until il became Of most sim
is,er import 10 the fate not only Of the
comet, but of the whole solar system. our
earth included And here let us say at
once that II was no probability OF COLI
sion between the comet and the earth that
was 10 De feared. Such a catastrophe
would in all likelihood be terrible only in
anticipation Whenever there is an op-
D1rtunity Of putting a comet in the scale
against "a planet il is found that the COM
RI. though in buIk immense. has a mass
almost enthusiastically small IL may be-
but flying cloud Of widely scattered
dust, IL may rise 10 the dignity Of "a
Night Of brckbats.' as someone has nut
%. Tho former is the more probable for
az least there Is not much doIJt that a
comet gradually becomes disinteErated in
7" a swarm ~ m'ttrTS We should all
cave been familiar with what happens
when the earth runs into a meteor
warm; II was terrible only when it did
not come of.
The symptoms which superveucd I'm the
case or EUcke s comet was Of far gray
~ character. II port-udrd the decay and
ultimate destruction Of our whole system.
a slow but sure and inevitable falling to-
SetheF OF its component parts until an
were euRulfcd and consumed by the sun
All this was To hc deduCed from the sim
pie Tact. completely established that the
comet came back 10 psrlheIiOu at each
return two hours and half too soon
It's period was shortening IL must COuse-
Qu+Euy be drawing nearer and nearer 10
the sun. an eff 81 TO be Xplaiued-thOugh
the explanation is not quite obvious. and
we must take 70 for granted here-Ouly
by the suppositi0n that the space In which
che comet moved was not quite void OF
something tangible that might rctard its
motion Here was to be seen a cause Of
peril 10 everything that moved round the
sun What was ElSlliy happening To the
tonuous comet. so little able 20 resist the
slightest opposition, must far more slow
Is but just as inevitably happen 20 the
system Is proof against all the manifold
disturbances which arise within II by the
mutual attraction Of planet upon planet
n there were in space some permanent
IL would be doomed.
At is blacklist The case was no Imme-
date nor even remote menace 10 the fu-
ture Of the human race Long enough
before IL became Of serious Importance
the earth would iu aH probability Doe cold
and dead as the moon. But there is
pathetic interest i'm the prospect of de-
StTuCtiOn for the beautiful system Of plan
cts OF whose paTmaUeac. We were before
so well assured
II comes as "A relief 10 learn that the
grave symptoms ia the case of Eucke.s
comet have lu the last forty years become
notably diminished Since 1860 the comet
has come round more punctually- IL is
now little more than an hour lat. N each
sltlTu. and sine this change is great
gsal harder to understand than the oTisi-
nal fact there is good reason FOR hope
that perhaps the diagnosis was wrong
from the FIRST, that il may not after all
uD necessary To lain the comets UNI
uuurtualIty 10y the hypothesis Of some TO
sI-t-uCe IN space. dangerous TO all bodies
HlSe, both light and heavy. For the
very .NiStsuc. Of the alleged uuUuuCtuaI-
with amy uIaU-iuIIisy that the effects OF
the attractions Of all the known bodies Of
Inc system have been not quite accurate
.F 'Ea.Uti'G and there lS here. 81 must
De- confessed. luuUhIlC boy which 10 NAV
Dec possible some day 20 find the way ont
A comet is but frail body, pulled VIC
..uly this way and that by the attrlc-
tive power Of the heavier bodies near
LIah 10 may chance 90 wander. We
might hD quite certain that of these FUN
roaoVut had been taken. were IL not for
The fact that there are stiU some small
outstanding irr,gularties in the move
wtuis of the planets themselves which
-Hutluuu 10 defy calculation So long AS
.his rs the case 10 is impossible 10 feel
"DuyiuD.d that theory is perfect q may
.a that the anomalous motion Of EUclZ,-s
.Dmst presenting itself SO Frequently a..
our scrutiny. may supply tho key t0 the
ngma which IS stiI uns"lv,d--LouGOu
Spectator.