The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1910-04-19
Telling What The Appearance
Of The Comet viii Be
And The Best Time To OBJ.
serve Its SpIGDdOf
BY JOHN N. sTockWELL, A. NJ,
oh ID

The third predicted return of Hal
| ley's comet to the vicinity of the sun
is near at hand. Its place in the
heavens was discovered photograph
ically, and it was found to be very
near the spot assigned to 1t by calcu-
lation, after having been invisible dur
ing period of rs years.
1t was discovered early in the
month of September of last year,
when it's distance from the sun was
more than 3O0OO0,OOO miles, and it
has been constantly approaching the
sun since the date of it's discovery. 1t
reached the orbit of Venus about
April 1.
The comet will continue to approach
the sun until April 10, when it's dis
tance will be about 54,OO0,OOO miles.
1t will then commence another rev.
olution around the sun, and continue
to recede from it during 3S years,
when it's return journey from outer
darkness to the sun will begin.
The comet is now so nearly in con-
junction with the sun that it is invis-
ible, or at least barely visible to the
best of naked eyes. 1t rises just before
the sun now. 1t will continue to rise
earlier each successive morning until
hours and thirty minutes before the
sun, and present a beautiful appear
ance in the eastern sky before the
beginning of twilight. If it is accom-
panied by tail of la ge dimensions,
it will produce scene of grandeur
and magnificence such as nature sell
dom presents for our contemplation.
The comet will, from May 6, begin
to rise later each successive morn
ing until May 1S, when it will become
lost in the suns rays, but it will en-
erge from them to the eastward of
the sun on May 20, and will afterward
appear in the western sky after sun
set.
During the interval from May 1S to
20 the comets head will have crossed
the SUMS disk, but the time of its oc-
currence will be unfavorable for OBJ
servation by civilized people, as it
takes place at apparent noon in the
Pacific ocean, which will he in the
very early hours of the mcrning in
the United States.
At the time of the transit the comet
will be directly between the earth and
the sun, and it's distance from the
earth will be only about 14,000,000
miles. Should the comets tail at that
time exceed 14,000000 miles in length,
the earth would pass directly through
the tail of the comet.
On Feb the comets tail was esti-
mated as 100000 miles in length, and
conditions are apparently favorable
for prodigious development of that
appendage before the 18th of May. 1t
would be no occasion for surprise or
alarm If the comet should have a tail
30,000,000 miles in length at that time.
Astronomers know very little concern
ing the nature and composition of the
tails of comets, and 1t is believed that
! the present return of Haileys comet
J will afford more favorable oppor-
I tunity for increasing our knowledge
on this important branch of astrono-
my than has ever before been afford
ed to modern science.
After the transit of the comet it will
pass rapidly to the eastward, present
ing the same glorious appearance in
the western sky in the evening that it
previously afforded in the morning be-
fore its conjunction with the sun
1t has already been remarked that
this is the third PREDICTED return
of this comet to the sun, but there are
several we'll authenticated accounts
Of its having visited the sun on many
previous occasions. At the time of its
appearance in 1852, methods of COM
putting their paths through regions of
space had been devised by astrono-
mers, and Haley availed himself of
these methods and applied them to
the computation of the orbits of com.
cts which had previously been men,
tionel In history, In this way he found