Los Angeles herald., 1909-12-26
WILL SOON SEE
HALLEY'S COMET
CELESTIAL VISITOR WILL BE
VISIBLE IN JANUARY
PROBABLE EFFECT ON EARTH is
DISCUSSED
Scientists All over World Observing
Luminous Body Which Is TraV-
cling Toward Sun at ln-
conceivable Speed

NEW YORK, Dec. 25.-Within the
memory of few has there been an as
Economical event Of such interest to
astronomers, scientists and the general
public as the return of Halleys comet.
This mysterious celestial visitor Is
now rushing across the solar system
toward the sun. after seVenty-siX years
In the darkness of space. Even the
most learned and distinguished as
tronomers admit they do not know Just
where il has been or what wonderful
experiences it may have been through
since it was last seen by human eyes
in 1888.
In every observatory in the world
scientists are now observing TINS
comet. It is rapidly growing in bril-
lance as it approaches the sun ana
will be visible to the naked eye some
time in January. shooting across the
constellation Aries, with an ever
lengthening tail and an ever-brighten-
ing head. But the feature of greatest
interest is the probable effect OF the
comet on the earth.
viii il run afoul of this planet, and
If it does what will be the result?
Writers like Jules Verne and IL. q.
Wells have commented on such con-
tfngency in their fancful style, and IN
all their stories a cataclysm mas re-
suited. According to Verne great
piece of the earth, with its inhabitants
IS broken off and carried away py the
comet. Wells fills the air with a gas
potent enough to change human nature
and the ideals of human life.
NJ. Flammarion, who has lately con-
tributed an article on an unnamed
planet which exists i'm the space be-
vond the orbit of Neptune, looks on
The stories of a cataclysm to come ds
farcical. A..
Nearly all of these men admit the
possibility of the comet or some par
of it, coming in contact with the earlh
it is still too far away and its nature
ZOO little known for exact calculations.
ON Nav Is the comet will be directly
between the earth and the sun and the
tail will stream out directly toward us.
AS the visitor viii then be l3,OOOOOO
miles away its effect depends entirely
on whether its tail is that long at the
time they say, provided, of course, tnat
the head of the comet misses TINS
nlanet when it rushes across the
earth's orbit on its terrific journey to-
ward the sun.
Astronomers are not the least fright
ened Most of them point out that the
comets tail is merely a cloud OF thin,
harmless gases, or possibly a tran OF
meteorites, which might be attracted
by the earth and manifest themselves
as DTllHdHL tNlibi'ioi VI
stars, somewhat similar to the Leonlds.
There is also a possibility of luminous
displays like the aurora borealis.
AS a matter of fact, the earth IS
supposed to have passed through the
tail of a comet twice within the mem
ory of many living persons. The last
time was in 1867, but there were few
who knew of it at the time. There
are records of a haze in the atmos-
phere, dull yellow glows on the hori-
zon at twilight and sulphurous tlnge
TO the air that sometimes set people
to coughing.
Speculation as to what would hap
pen if the mundane planet should en-
counter the comet proper is more seri-
Gus. The nucleus might be SOLID
mass of fire, hot enough to Kill every
form of life that came within radius
of thousands of miles.