Omaha daily bee., 1909-08-22
LOOK FOR HALLEY'S COMET
Rare One-star show Several Million
Miles Away in the


The biggest free show that this generation
will W seen will soon be given. It's arena
will be high up In the sky, where everybody
may see 1t and there will be no need of
crowding. Prof. Garrett p. ServIss, noted
as a writer on popular astronomy, tells all
about II In the current number of Hamp-
toms Magazine. 1t will be a one-star show
tho return OF Halley's comet. The last
time 1t was seen by the people on earth
was in 1895. and it is now in the last stages
Of a journey of s,soo,OOoeOO miles which a
to be made to play this return date.
Again, Notwithstanding the advance of
science, fear will mlngle with wonder az
it's apparition. A thrill Of apprehension will
be felt by millions who see it's fiery head
blowing through the stars and it's sword
shaped tail brRndished over the earth, as II
monitory Of unknown and unavoidable evil.
Astronomers have calculated that Halley's
comet must have crossed inside the orbital
distance of Jupiter from the sun about the
first Of last January, In the middle Of
January It's distance from the earth was
estimated at "a, 900, 900 miles. During the
late fall it Is expected to become visible to
the naked eye, after having. for months
before, been photographed and studied with
telescopes. 1t will slowly brighten during
next winter, being visible from nearly all
parts OF the earth. Gradually approaching
the sun, it will make its perlhellon passage,
at a distance Of about 5000, 900 miles from
the solar globe. on the 18th Of next April.
Its greatest brightness is expected to occur
after the perihelion passage, when IL will
draw nearer the earth, and be visible IN
both the evening and the morning sky. But
At that time II will be south OF the celestial
equator, and consequently better seen from
the southern hemisphere. About May Is
the comet will be only 100000 or 5000, OC
miles from the earth. although for more
than q month 1t will have been retPeatinR
from the sun.
Just what It's appearance will be no one
can predict. 1t is the Proteus OF space. Il
may blaze with amazing spIendor, as II die
when trembling Europe saw It in an avataI
OF the conquering sword Of the Prophet oil
Mecca, or 1t may be relatively insignificant
But In any event It will fix the attention
OF mankind, and for astronomers will b,
the most interesting phenomenon seen Ii
the sky for many decades.
Prof Serviss, In this article, gives dat,
which can probably be found nowhere els
in lay publications. The returns OF HALEY
comet. he says, have recently been trace,
back to the year $40 b. c., but It has prob
ably been revolving in It's ellipticaI orb
very much longer than that.
Halley's discovery, after it's appearance II
1852, that It wa q regular visitor to tn,
neighborhood OF the sun has always ranked
as one of the capital triumphs Of astron
omy, His suspicion that the comet OF 1S
was not paying It's first visit to the sun wa.
based upon the similarity between It's orb
in space and the orbits Of two other comets
which had appeared In 1907 and 1884,, respsc
lively. (He did not guess It's identity Will
the comets Of l4b6 and 1861 II the thre
we're Identical, then the same comet ouEh
to return again after another interval o
about seyenty-six years, Accordingly
Haley ventured the prediction that Ia
comet would be back again In 1858: lie die
in l74z, seventeen years before the fulfil
ment Of his prophecy.