The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1909-08-27

! heavens have ever disclosed" said one
of the well.know members of the as
Economical force at the United States
Naval Observatory ''Halley's comet
comes only once in lifetime, ana
many are born, live and die without
ever catching glimpse of it in its
dash across the skies. 1t was last
seen in 1885, and few persons now
alive can say they have seen it.
The astronomer explained that the
entire astronomical world is now on
the qui vive and that huge refracting
telescopes, as well as rejecting ones,
are being trained upon the heavens
from every important strategic point
of observation in an effort to locate
the comet, which is approaching the
earth at rate that would make the
swiftest express train look like a
snail.
With every advantage as the result
of the past three quarters of a CEN
fury of development in Astronomical
science, at their command, all of the
Heading observatories are engaged now
in friendly rivalry to see which will
be the first to sight the comet. The
moment this is done the news will
travel as fast as cable and wireless can
carry the announcement, and the fol-
lowing night telescopes in the five
continents will be trained like big
guns toward the domain of the new
conner in the heavens.
The coming of this comet will be
by far the most important astronomi-
cal event of recent years. We have
calculated that Halley's comet is now
within the orbit of the planet Jupiter
r said the astronomer, 'and is rushing to-
J ward the orbit of the earth at the
l rate of million miles a day. As q
faint nebulous object in the contella
ton Orion it will no doubt be sighted
D in few weeks In fact celestial pho
e Biography has it already located il
: limitless space far beyond the vision
of the most delicate telescope research
As the comet enters into the Orbit
of our solar system it will grow bright
er every day until it becomes visible
S to the naked eye. Aside from this i
9 has an interesting place in classical, al
e well as astronomical, literature. Whel
3 it was last seen it was year before
n the birth of Simon Newcomb, thu
: great American astronomer, who ha
just died, but whose splendid mathe
NAUTICAL mind had long since locates
n it's whereabouts in the faraway realm
/. of infinite space.
S There will be no danger of COLI
h sion. When closest it will be abou
n 2OOOO,OOO miles away. 1t should b
d brightest about next May. After abou
y about July it will gradually pas
: away and early in 1911 disappear int
night of impenatrable darkness, t.
{ be seen no more until the close of TIN
f present century.
S With this red letter event of tn
e skies coming and Mars already gettin
= into closer touch every night wit
g mother earth, the astronomers are en-
tering upon their busiest season TO
E. nearly century. Just now Mars j
e getting the center of the stage, an
d enacting sort of curtain raiser 70
n the big event. At the Naval Obser
vatory the big 26-inch equatorial tele
h scope is being turned every night to
: ward the eastern heavens for noctul
nal peeps at Mars Mars is now o
# the closest visit to earth that til
d planet has made since the early eight
d les. Once every three years MAJ
.e swings into what the astronomers ca
D, close proximity to our own planet, a
le though the nearest visit at any tim
Is has usually been about 100000 mile
i'd away. Mars rises above the easter
&c horizon about IL o'clock every nigh
Id at point little to the north {
o. east, and about IL o'clock become
id quite brilliant. It's size and red colo
Sc render it easily discernible to I'll
naked eye and it will grow brightt
until about the last of September, I'll
4th of that month being the date &
which the best astronomical observ;
Oh tions will start. Then it will gro
DINNER until it gets back to norma
e. about the early part of November.
III The big 26-inch telescope has bee
for several nights past turned on Ma
and held there until dawn. The oil
er IservatiOns being made have double il
terest at the observatory, because
q, was through this same 26-inch equ
OF torial then the largest lens in tt
world that the late Professor Asps
Hall, in 1877 discovered the two lii
u putian satellites of Mars. Profess
Aspah Hall, Jr., son of the man wi
discovered the Marian satellites
ct now on duty at the observatory al
is looking through the same '26-in,
equatorial telescope at the midget
1T which his father was the first to fin
of These satellites are very small. o.
is seven miles in diameter, the 9th
of fourteen miles through its enter al
the smaller one of the two is chi
little fellow who does considerable ma
ng athoning on his own hook as
travels around Mars once every sew
on hours and thirty minutes.
Some of the scientists have an id
yo that the Martians are queer little
dividuals of the Brownie type wi
ks cross eyes. Other scientists with
*, sense of humor say this may be trt
ny las the swift and continuous cireui