The Spokane press. [volume] (Spokane, Wash.) 1902-1939, 1910-02-27

te@OM MET A-191o," which came
shooting from behind the sun
the latter part Of January and
has now vanished somewhere on IN
space, will go down in history as the
most amazing object that ever appeared
In the sky. 1t was the frst real celestial
10y rider astronomers have seen. Its
character and performances were as
unique as its origin and destination are
0Ameless
3Doaping from some cometary garage,
1t stole swiftly and unseen up behind
the sun: then II tried to run as close to
that luminary as possible without hitting
it-cioser than any comet has ever been
before. After that 1t betrayed desire
te-eut over and bump the earth, but celes-
tial forces, which are really the police
men of the sky held 1t back Passing
close to Venus It skidded a Bit swerved
and soon. as IL often the case with Joy
riders. met disaster. Something or other
broke its tail, so that while half stuck
squafely away from the sun the other
half took a twist of seventy degrees.
AS the comet was entirely a new one 1t
bore no license number, so that Is why 1t
was docketed "A-191O"A-which means
'the first comet Of the year 1910. 1t is
not likely that this will help any in the
future, however, as the comet will prob
ably never return. With its broken TAIL
the astonishing visitor is continuing on
its race through space at the rate OF
forty miles a second; surely a speed to
make its terrestrial kind very envious In
deed. Where It is going, or where 1t will
end up, or what very extraordinary
things 1t may do no one can tell.
As to its character, 1t Is really q
salt comet. the only one on record: a
kind of translated Lots Wife flying
through space, a-gleam with strange
ire and streaking the sky with stream
ing. golden garments of flaming
sodium. Some astronomers have de-
clared that spectroscopic analysis
showed distinct lines Of radium.
AS to its performance. 1t has opened
every ones eyes to the tremendous
possibilities of a great comet rushing
into the solar system. unsupported and
Undecided, coming up behind the sun
Hike a submarine torpedo boat charged
with explosive energies. and reaching
its very goal before anybody on the
earth is aware of its existence. For
tunately for us Its mission was not
one OF destruction: 1t was not aimed
straight at the sun, as 1t might have
been. and 1t has apparently missed all
the planets. But 1t is like the first
Shell from q concealed enemy. which
suddenly reveals their presence. and
shows that they are experimenting
with the range.
1t has even been accused Of RESPONSE
bility for the awful floods In Europe
and the strange fluctuations Of the sea-
To Imaginative minds 1t has seemed as
II the stunning speed Of its passage
had thrown the atomic ocean of the
ether into unwonted vibrations. curling
upon the shores Of the nearby planets
In electric pillows which have upset
the meteorological elements and spread
floods. and rains. and tidal repercus-
sions over the globe. The extraordi-
nary changes of the weather, from
the great snow tempests of Christmas
and mid-January to the mild tempera-
lures Of the first of February. the tor
rental rains in southeastern Europe
and the sudden breaking out Of the In
ternal waters. overwhelming the city
OF Paris and raising the level Of the