New-York tribune., 1909-11-14

Next spring Tho earth IS going 20 have "A
very strangc and interesting visitor %
Las been on SIS way here for about thirty
seven and one-half wears. and the nrsi
part of the Journey Was scry SLOW. hut o.
g. now getting m "a great hurry 90 sec MS
and is tearing through space az the rate az
hundreds of miles SECOND
Of coarse al the htiic people Who read
tho papers know about this visitor We
CAN it HaIey's cornet and 81 has been LOOK
iug in on us ensry sevcuty-ivc years for
81 least "a coupic - thousand wears. and
nobody knows how raurh longer. ene 81
ifs calls was in The wear 1a65. when Mill-
lam the Conqueror was invading England.
and ,he Norusins believed trat il ai6eG thc
conquest Matilda. The wife of William.
made tapestry picture ~ rLe comet.
which uav sim boz seen ~ Bavcux in Nor
nGucF ana King Edwgra has ia his crown
leWcl which Is supposed o. represent tre
Gsu ~ the celestial VISITOR.
ln the DAYS of William the CouQueror
a1d ior many centuries aficr people were
a-t-dia'ly afraid of comcts-lairy stars .ls
taey called them. ana ae W. cau them too.
because comet comes from thc Latin coma
meaning hair-aud Hallcv's comet was 50
much bigger than most others thar it
f-ghtened tlem lcarlv 20 death every vine
Dr. care round. Thc most dreadful appear
anoc of tho comet VS. n lE6. three wears
after constantinoplc was conquered by IN.
Turks People were afraid rlst Tie Turks
were Solrs 90 overru1 Europe. and uhen
tre comet appeared rhey though u had
come fo help their enemies 50 th- Pope
ordered sll ths bells In rhe churches u be
ing and THE people nrayed % De delivered
from -rhe devil The Turk and ire comet
Slt nov We know that rlo comet IS an
old friend, which has visited us a great
many times without doing sly Larn and
isnt likely 70 begin now II was Edmund
Haley who discovered This when Tho comet
visited us iu l6S2- Tfe calculated tho rorler--
o-tr or path srouni thc sun Theu 10
compared It Vltl the orbits ~ comets
y lich had sppesred in lsaT an5 r51l. and
found THAI a. three were exactly alike.
He concluded then that rhe three comets
had been only one and thar ir would an
pear again ll seventh. five -aars. OF course.
20 did NOT live 20 see pr. tut o. The very
rne De had predicted in the year I-5s the
rouef came around. fo The great IeIf-hr
ana eXcileflerr of the astronomer-. It's
return in smother zeventy-fve wears was
now looked upon as csrtairr-. and again
pr came according 70 scledulc. Nov r. is
coming again. IN was sighted ar German
observatory As fsr hack as the middle of
Septeu2er, and ordinary people who
have 10 telescopes viii hc able 70 see
ft The astronomers ten u-. by tie begin
uiug ~ February. Biif II Won't hs Kery
conspicuous until April Then. if IL ho-
haves as it did ON prey ions visits. its JsiI
WTn sweep one-Quarter ~ the distance
arToss the sky
Before HALEY time no one LaI -lir idea
tI.at comets travelled aroaud tle sun. Il.e
rhe planets. and returned at reE-.lar inter-
walls bat now we know that "a great many
~ them 10 81. We have learned mar-
ether Things a,ouJ cuu'ot7. Too Tor sne
IfinE. We kEor that ctere are s -reaC
many ~ them They are as uur1eruue Iu
ths heavens. it has hesl said as fishes 81
rle sss, but ulost ~ them can be soca only