The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-03-13
MOON LANDSCAPE DRAWN TO SHOW FUTURE OF,
EARTII'S FERTILE REGI ONS.

I!
ct May is remains source OF won
derment even to those whose minds are
above the common dread OF the expe-
rience. To these 1t may be said that
the great tail which we are to pass
through is more shodow than sub
stance. This will be appreciated the
better when 1t is further explained that
our planet itself has, at times, comet
tail-the aurora, or northern lights
and that we have a number OF times
passed through the tails Of comets.
1 notably in 1919 and 1851. without those
events having been known until after
the encounters occurred. The only ef-
fects ever associated with them have
been some beautiful sunsets.
But suppose we should come in con-
tact with the head of a comet and not
merely the outermost tip OF the tail,
as will be the case May IS? Here is
what Professor w. H. Pickering, OF
harvard Observatory, has to say as
an answer to this question:
Should we come In contact with the
head Of small comet there would
undoubtedly be5a fine meteoric display.
That Is, In fact. pro baby what hap
pened In 1888, aud also on a number
of previous occasions--notablyE 4 in arg,
oo2. 1929, 1909 and 1893, although the
comet itself was not luminous.
If the comet were moving rapidly
with regard to the earth, as in these
cases. the meteors would BIO consumed
at great altitude in our atmosphere
and no harm would be dore. II the
comet were moving in the same direc-
tion as ourselves. however, and at
would then become more serious. q s
many of the nleteors might hit carth's
surface f5,5
SO we passed through comets
head. according to Prof. Pickering. No
Nember 13, 1888, when we had our
greatest meteor display Of all history,
one which caused CONSERVATION among
the Ignorant, many OF whom believed
the end OF the world to be surely a,
hand. North America was the part
or the earth's surface lombard ed Al at
that time, and over it the fiery aero
lytes fell as thick as Esnowhak But
these composed the head of only an
Invisible comet The Visible comet
head which has ventured nearest us
was LeXell's. which came within a.,
100000 miles i'll 1870. Its. head then
! looked to be four times the diameter
of the moon. s4 4; = 3'5
If We truck the Head.
should earth strike the nucleus
&Shead) of a great comet&llke that. for
instance instance, Of 1858, 1t IS Impossible Ito
foretell what would happen added
Prof. Pickering, but possibly the
temperature and shock would be such
that all life within several thousand
miles of the point i$of contact would
become extinct. CONSIDERING the vast
recesses OF celestial space. however,
and the insignltlcant size Of our earth,
the probability of such an encounter
may well be likened, as some one has
suggested, to the chance that III a
man should shut his eyes and fire a
gun into the air he would bring down
a bird.''s m .3-4
The most serious encounter OF this.
kind OF Which there Is, material evil.
sdence left upon our sphere seems to
have taken place centuries ago near
Canyon Diablo. Western Arizona.
where there lies a considerable craft
er, which used to be attributed to vol
canic action, but which is now be-
3lieved Ito have been the. work sc a
head curator OF geology IN the Ma
tional Museum. has lately confirmed
this suspicion and has estimated that
this projectlle hurled from the skies
may have weighed 500 tons. NIeteorio
material scattered for miles | N the
surrounding plains shows that this
meteorlte struck with such force as to
convert the sand into glass and Its
own material into diamonds. IA;
IfIt Struck the sun,
Collision&o a comet With the sun la
a catastrophe which astronomers res
gard asimuch more likely than one's
contact with the earth. The head OF
the great comet al 1S43 ycntured With
III tshnt ~ am mi Las "a
enough to- have been Tapped BY soma
OF he solar protuhernnces, II ut had
fallen into the sun II would pro ably
have caused only a. 81 ght 4 risa In our
ten nature and a violent ma Enet!ol