The Detroit times., 1910-05-20
Absolutely No Sign
OF Comet at U. Of N.
BY ALFRED J. PITTS.
(Staff Correspondent The Times

(Stan Correspondent The Times.)
ANN ARBOR, Mich, May l9.-
There is absolutely no proof today that
the earth passed through the tail OF
Halley's comet last night. Nothing
10 indicate such transit was seen
frcm the observatory of the Uniyer-
sity OF Michigan. Prof. j. W. Hussey
and his assistant, Dr. r. n. Curtiss,
kept weary vigil from 9 o'clock last
night until daylight this morning, but
they saw nothing 10 convince them
that the earth had plunged through
the comet
"Can you state positively that the
earth has passed through the comets
tail7" I asked Prof. Hussey after he
had scanned the sky all night.
"No," he replied.
II saw nothing to PROVE it, We
must accept the computations Of scien-
lists of the past. and the deductions
made by astronomers of the present,
and believe that we passed through
the comet The transit was supposed
to have begun at 1890 o'clock last
night and ended about seven hours
later Until my observations reveal
something to contradict these compu-
tations ! must accept them"
So. it seems that the predictions
handed out by certain astronomers
have been worthless. Prof. Hussey
looked for nothing more than an
aurora borealis to mark the passing
of the earth through the comets tail,
but other scientists had predicted
there would be a glow as the gas col
lided with the earth. One astronomer
of the far vast was quoted as saying
that the tail OF the comet was filled
with deadly cyanogen gas-enough 20
suffocate- everybody on the earth.
Whether ne made this statement as
Joke Is immaterial now, because II
looks like we did not collide with cy-
anogen gas or anything else.
Prof. Hussey's knowledge Of the sup
posed passing Of the earth through
the gaseous fan-like affair is typical
OF that OF other astronomers today.
Prof. Frost. of the Yerkes observa-
tory, Wisconsin, says he doesn't even
believe that the comet passed to the
west last night. He Is quite sure he
observed IL still in the east early this
morning. A Princeton university as
tronomer says the earth started To
pass through the tail at s o'clock this
morning Prof. Jacoby, of Columbia
university, in a statement issued this
morning, holds that the gas In the
comets tail is so thin that We would
not know If we did pass through 1t.
And so on.
Sc. all the terrible things the peo-
| pic had feared from the comets pass
i ing to the east have been imaginative,
! produced by the wild stories circulat-
ed about a comet which has failed to
! perform as scheduled. Comet parties
were the order OF the night, but the
best the star gazers' could see were
the moon, the twinkling stars and the
fieece-lined clouds at times passing
over the sky the same as on any other
night.
The aurora borealis was seen from
the Yerkes' observatory, In Wisconsin,
and Prof Frost believed at first this
was produced by the passing OF the
earth through the comets tail. II WAS
stated later however, that this phe-
nomena had nothing to do with the
comet. Ditto on the sun spots that
were seen yesterday. These were OBJ
served by Prof. Hussey Of Ann Arbor.
DIR. Hall, OF Berkeley, Cal. aud other
scientists but they say they had no
connection with Halley's comet. Prof
Hussey saw the sun spots as early as
yesterday noon, and says they were
visible during the afternoon.
The sky was strikingly clear when
Prof. Hussey stationed himself at the
monster telescope In the observatory
here at 8 o'clock last night to sweep
the heavens for phenomena due to
Halley's comet. He had a clear view
until 1890 o'clock when clouds dotted
the sky. At $3.50 o'clock he announced
the head of the comet was due to cross
the disk Of the sun at that moment.
One hour later IL would be at the east
ern edge OF Old Sol.
There was deep curiosity In the OBJ
servatory, Notwithstanding no trace
of the comet could be seen. Prof.
Hussey went downstairs TO the seis-
mograph to see II there had been
record OF a change in the earth's crust.
II was the same old earth, though.
There was nothing doing on the sells
mograph. These instruments have reg
istered the earthquakes OF San Fran
cisco, Messina, Costa Rica and other
shocks In various parts Of the world.
The machines record the locality OF
the disturbance and the time they take
place.
Prof. Hussey and DIR. Curtiss then
began the final weary vigil in the OBJ
servatory. They scanned the skies all
night but saw nothing unusual.
According TO computations the comet
was TO pass the suns disk last night
and appear I'm the west. II could o.
seen, II was predicted, about the time