The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-05-17
1ur COMET AND THE sun.


1IIr, ONE AND THE sun.
There was a circle around the sun
Yesterday and ever so many inquiries
were made at this office as to whether
or not the comet was responsive 1or
IL AS enc of the laity, we should say
that the comet did not have a blessed
thing 10 do with 1t. There have been
circles around the sun over and over
again when there was not a comet In
siyht and there will be circles around
the sun over and over again after me
disturbing element now in u heavens
has finished its present performance
| Nobody understands the comet ana
very few people are on speaking terms
with the sun. There are comets ana
comets. "They travel for the most
part in long ellipses indistinguishable
from, parabolas, inclined at all angles
to the ecliptic; their motion is retro
grade as often as direct. and they nave
no assignable periods AS matter OF
fact, half a dozen of them are hyper
bolic. At a distance from our system
they are misty. amorphous objects, and
they sometimes ave tails that are
as much as, or moro than, one hun
dred million miles long, and these taiis
are obviously affected by heliofugal
impulses. AS long ago as 1866
S%chiaparelli established the fact, or. at
least, he advanced the theory, that
"the genetic relationship of comets to
meteoritcs lends countenance to the
supposition that they eventually dis
integra.c into dust, and of their for-
mcr splendor preserve only the iitful
gloam OF a shooting STAR" Up to this
present time they have never been
known to do anybody bodily harm.
Tho present comet is named for a
man by the name of HALEY, some OF
whose descendants are living now In
virginia, although it should be eN-
planned that the words of hat fine
old song. The MocSing Bird'-'Im
dreaming now OF Halle. sweet
4 Hallie"-were not written by any OF
$ his near kin. ut is expected" we are
d told, that the comet (this comeD
will transit the suns disc on May is
le Tomorrow, when its tail will prob
9, ably extend far beyond the earth" But
tie suppose it does, how are we going t'
help it. and what difference does
re make. il we nave only lived correc
lc lives? We should think that it woul
y be a very difficult and dangerous thin
lie to transit the suns disc at any tim
i and particularly just at this tim
d when there is no assurance that NJ
e Taft's railroad bill will please hi
= or anybody else. Then. we have a
: left undone so many of tho things thu
5 we ought to have done. and have dor
'r so many things that we ought not
NJ have done. and if the comets ia
70 should contain all the sorts of d.
structive gases the spectrum has dit
covered, 1t will be rather too late II
VI morrow for US to catch up with OF
NC obligations. Besides. trusting In III
re Lord, who is both sun and shield, "
IS shan do the best we can, in the Gil
$ .,,oa.- Nd ..if n ,uara. 1ona UfP
he ,.;s ao,a the, ,+werc well IT were don
a ,,icr1,o rbero does not apoea
&c, ha snvtbinp wong with sue
r ,,,,,so,b. a q +hat, AZ any rate. ii
~, i, ,bi,c IN s;pbt iusf now.
vra .t,rted ont to saw that the circl
= ] tba sun Yesterday was nc
4, ~. ~. comet at least that
n o,r de,iharate oninion because w
a. ,vo soon circles around the sun an
: aronna ,he moon also when Their
: we're no comets speeding throug
snace and we see no reason why W
lie should look for a sign this time tn;
I'd ,s moi there The vorticose moveme,
OF OF the sun is proof enough for us
in still regard him as utterly indifterel
d. to the comet, to all the comets tn;
Is ,o -un~ in +ha ynr,er deem. indee
e. ~. oov,as : rotbinr more 70 :,
of vii, ,at d,ecover tban
nj