Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-01-07
COMING OF THE COMET.
Interesting Information About Celes'
tjaI Visitor.

in small telescope? To this question
there Is a very simple answer which
may be summed up in one syllable
now. II one has q six-inch telescope
Is gifted with moderately keen eye
sight, and has good, clear weather, the
comet should be visible and can be
located without much difficulty. Early
in December the Smith college obser-
vatory reported that Halley's comet
had been seen there through a three
inch telescope. Thus, for possessors
Of telescopes smaller than six-inch
this interesting comet should prove q
test of eyesight. Amateur astronomers
who are not fortunate enough to pos
sess a telescope, but who wish to see
the comet with the naked eye, will
probably have to wait another three
months till after the comet passes by
the sun in March, and comes out from
the suns rays in April. The comet
will then rise before the sun, and con-
sequently can be seen only shortly be-
fore sunrise-a mucn less convenient
time of studying the heavens tnan In
the early evening. The comet will
then rapidly increase in brightness and
will reach a greater and greater angle
from the sun till May Is, when it sud-
denly changes its position again and
will draw in quickly towards the sun.
The comet ia due to cross the face OF
the sun on May IS, at 8 p. m, eastern
standard time. This will be p. m.
Pacific time, and the sun will not have
then set. Whether the comet will be
big enough to be seen in transit Is an
interesting question. There is no au-
thentic account Of a transit ever hav-
ing been seen to have actually taken
place, though many, notably the Biele
comet in 1926, were calculated to have
done so.
OF course, every one knows that Hal
ley's comet moves in great ellipse,
stretching out beyond the orbit Of Nep-
tune. OF all the comets with periods
less than 80 years, Halley's is the only
one which moves with a retrograde
motion, that is, in the direction oppo-
site to the motions Of all the planets
about the sun. This Is the comets
own motion. What is its apparent mo-
ton as seen from the tiny earth, which
itself Is in motion about the sun? The
movement among the stars Is the re-
sultant of the other two motions. At
the present time the comet is travelling
westward among the stars, the sun In
the opposite direction eastwards. The
angle between them will continually
decrease till about March 25, when the
sun will pass between US and the
comet. By referring to a diagram CIV
ing the paths of earth and comet, 1t
will readily be seen that the comet be-
comes a moving object and increases
it's angular distance from the sun. On
April 10 tine comet Is at perihelion and
closest to the sun, and consequently
Is moving with its greatest speed In
its orbit Five days later 1t Is headed
in the direction Of the earth, but the
world slips by unharmed. The comet
now ceases its retrograde motion IN
the sky, and begins to move direct or
eastward, at first slowly and then
with quickened pace. On the evening
of May IS the comet comes within A.
100000 miles Of the earth, and this
near approach causes tremendous ap-
parent motion among tine stars, and In
the next "a hours and for several days
thereafter 1t moves eastward as much
as Is degrees each night. Consequent
ly on May 10 there will be no need to
ask Where Is tine comet?' All may
see it as a magnificent object appearing
Immediately after sunset. 1t will be
higher and higher up in the western
sky each day when the sun sets. We
nave not had a brilliant comet In
northern latitudes since 1882, and 1t Is
altogether probable that Halley's Will
be just as magnificent, though of this
we can not be certain.
The man in the street" has been
rather disappointed with the comet be-
cause 1t has not blazed forth bright
ly long before this. The reason Is not
hard to find. At the first return since
the prediction was made by an Eng
lishman," in 1850, the comet was dis
covered IS days before it passed the
sun, in 1885, a period Of 102 days elaps-
ed before discovery and perihelion
passage. BY long exposures with
Photographic plate, Max Wolf found
Halley's comet on September II, no
less than 22O days before perihelion
passage. If the same number of days
only were to elapse as in 1885, on jan
uary 1, 1910. Halley's comet would be
still undiscovered. We must possess
our souls with little patience, for the
comet will not disappoint us. During
January the comet will move from the
constellation Of Aries into Pisces, and
at the end of the month will set about
D. m.-Exchange.
Numismatics.-Nephe Gust return