The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1910-04-09
A FEW FACTS ON
HALLEY'S COMET
By Miss Rose O'Halloran.
One of Americas Most
Noted Scientists.
The Story of Pope Calixtus
Nothing But a Pure
Fabrication.
No Danger to the Earth From
a Collision With the
Visitant.

All the world is interested in Hall
ley's comet. but Catholics have a spe-
cial reason to be so. because the his-
tory OF this famous stellar body in
wolves one OF the most infamous SLAM
ders ever invented to discredit the
Catholic Church.
The story of "the Pope and the
Comet" Is an exploded calumny, vet
for generations it was given credence
by historians who were either eager
or willing to accept and pass on any
story no matter how absurd, that
would make tho Catholic Church ap-
pear ridiculous. Even in this enlikht-
ened day some of our American
scientific" Journals have credited tho
tale. In "ten words" 80 to say, tho
story is that Pope Calixtus III in 1856
issued an interdict against the comet,
The facts in the case are that the
Papal Bull, slanderously said to have
been directed against the comet"
contained no reference whatever to It.
but merely ordered that prayers be
said for deliveranoe from such evils
as might. in the opinion of astrono-
mers of that early day, follow in the
wake Of the comet.
The worlds greatest astronomers
have now fixed May IS, 1910. as the
date for the reappearance OF Halley's
comet, whose first appearance dates
back to the year 12 B. C. 1t was last
seen in 1886. The comet is a regular
member OF the SUMS family, and re-
turns to it about once in three quar-
ters OF a century.
1t is named after an English astron-
omer who studied It's history, and An
ally predicted Its coming at certain
time. prediction that was verified
within q few days. At that time the
facilities for astronomical study were
greatly inferior to those of the present,
and the feat was hailed as little less
than marvellous by professionals and
laymen. .....
The comet was seen in 1895 by the
Director or the Rome College. It
passed its perihelion November 18, re-
mained in sight until the following
May, proving an extremely interesting
object, from the rapid changes which
it underwent from night to night,
ejccting streams Of matter like VOL
canic outburst The comet will pass
south of the sun, and be best seen in
the Southern Hemisphere.
Miss Rose O'TIalloran one Of Amer
ica's most reputable woman scientists,
who lives in San Francisco, has given
some interesting notes on the lumi-
nary, which at the present time, she
writes, is a faint object not discernible
in a small telescope.
"When enlarged and more brilliant"
says Miss O'Halloran, ut will pass
round the sun on the side opposite tho
earth, at distance of 1866, 100000 miles
from the latter; and March "a will
thus disappear from view for several
days. Still more brilliantly it will
then reappear in the eastern morning
sky before dawn, and April 20 will
reach the point Of its pathway near
est to the sun with the marvellous
speed Of s4.0oo,OOO miles in one sec
ond. It is expected to pass directly
between earth and sun May 1s, but
whether this seeming journey across
the glowing disk will be discernible to-
US is matter of uncertainty as yet.5
"That the luminous tail, at that
time projecting in the direction of our.
world, may sweep across it's surface
is one Of the possibilities mentioned by
those who have studied the relative,
positions of the two bodies. They will
then be only 100000 miles apart. 4,
even If such a collision takes place.
the inference is that the ethereal ap-S
pendage may brush both land and seA
without any noticeable effect, except,
perhaps, vague yellowish tint in the
atmosphere such as was seen, or im-:
agined when the comet Of 1861 was
suspected of similar haphazard,
} movement, s5