Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-09-10
astisesllaneous 8eading.
THE GREAT HALEY COMET.
Coming to Earth at Rate OF Million
Miles a Day.

cominq to Earth at Rate Of Millio'
Miles Day.
IF YOU live until next spring yol
will witness one Of the most masni
ficent sights the heavens have eve
disclosed" said one Of the we'll know
members of the astronomical force a
the United States naval observatory
lat Washington recently, to the st
Louis Globe Democrat correspondent
"Halley's comet comes only once in
lifetime, and many are born, live ant
die without ever catching a glimpse
of II in its dash across the SKIES
was last seen in 1885, and few persons
now alive can say they have seen II.
The astronomer explained that th'
entire astromical world is now on the
oui vive and that huge refractinS tele'
scopes, as we'll as rejecting ones, are
being trained upon the heavens IRON
every important strategic point OF OBJ
seryation in an effort to locate the
comet, which Is approaching the eartf
at a rate that would make the swift
est express train look like snail.
With every advantage as the result
of the past three quarters of a CEN
tury Of development in Astronomical
science, at their command. all Of the
leading observatories are engaged now
in friendly rivalry to see which vii
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
following night telescopes in the five
continents will be trained like big
guns toward the domain Of the new
conner in the heavens.
Travels Million Miles Day.
"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
said the astronomer, land is rushing
toward the orbit Of the earth at the
rate Of a million miles a day. AS
faint nebulous object In the constella.
ton Orion it will no doubt be sighted
in a few weeks. In fact celestial pho
Biography has it already located in iim.
itless space far beyond the vision Of
the most delicate telescope research.
AS the comet enters into the orbi
of our solar system it will grow bright
er every day until it becomes visible
to the naked eye. Aside from this Il
has an interesting place in classical
as well as astronomical, literature
When 1t was last seen 1t was yea
before the birth Of Simon Newcomb
the great American astronomer, wh(
has Just died, but whose splendid
mathematical mind had long since To-
Gated its whereabouts in the farawa!
realms of infinite space.
There will be no danger Of q COLI
sion. When closest it will be abou
| 20, ,000,0 miles away. 1t should b'
brightest about next May. After abou
July 1t will gradually pass away ant
early in 1911 disappear into a night O
impenetrable darkness, to be seen M
more until the close Of the presen
century.
Mars Coming Closer.
With this red letter event Of tn
skies coming and Mars already getting
into closer touch every night will
mother earth, the astronomers are en-
tering upon their busiest season TO
nearly a century. Just now Mars Il
getting the center Of the stage, AM
enacting a sort Of curtain raiser TO
the big event. At the naval observa
tory the big 26-inch equatorial tele
scope is being turned every night to-
ward the eastern heavens for noctur
nal Peeps at Mars. Mars is now OF
the closest visit to earth that tn
planet has made since the early S0s
Once every three years, Mars swings
into what the astronomers call clos
proximity to our own planet, although
the nearest visit at any time has usu
ally been about 40,000,000 miles away
Mars rises above the eastern horizon
about II o'clock every night at poin
a little to the north Of east, and abou
IL o'clock becomes quite brilliant. IT
size and red color render 1t easily dis
cernible to the naked eye and it will
grow brighter until about the last O.
September, the 4th Of that month be-
ing the date at which the best astro'
nomical observations will start. Ther
it will grow DINNER until it gets bacl
to normal about the early part Of No.
| vember.
Big Telescope In Use.
The big 26-inch telescope has beer
for several nights past turned on Mars
and held there until dawn. The OBJ
servations being made have double
interest at the observatory, because Il
was through this same 26-inch equa.
torial, then the largest lens in the
world, that the late Prof. Aspah Hall
in 1877, discovered the two Liliputiar
satellites Of Mars. Prof. Aspah Hall
Jr., son Of the man who discovered
the MaTtlan SdtellllSS, lS uOW w outy
at the observatory and Is looking
through the same 26-inch equatoria
telescope at the midgets, which hi!
father was the first to find.
These satellites are very small. One
is seven miles in diameter, the Other
fourteen miles through it's center anc
the smaller Of the two is a chirp little
fellow who does considerable mara
| thoning on his own hook as he travels
around Mars once every seven hours
| and thirty minutes.
Some of the scientists have an idea
that the Martians are queer little in
dividuals Of the Brownie type with
cross eyes. Other scientists with q
sense of humor say this may be true
as the swift and continuous circuit;
made by the smaller of the two satel-
lites must keep the Martians spinning
around like tops and knock the spots
out of their eyes.
"You ,an Say that astronomical So