Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1910-05-17
MAY NOT SEE
TARDY TAIL
OF COMET
MOONS PHASE EXPECTED
TO MAKE IT INVISIBLE
Six or Seven Hours viii Be
Consumed in Passage of
Earth Through Attenuated
ADpendage Tomorrow.

lfy Morning journal Special leased WireI
san Jose. Cal. May lG.-Director
Campbell of the Lick observatory to-
day gave out the following statement:
"Halley's comet was ninety degrees
long at daybreak this morning. both
as photographed and as observed by
the naked eye. This corresponds to
Il length Of $4,000. 600 miles The
nearest point of the comet was H.
600, 600 miles from the earth. Tues
day morning it will be nearly 100000
miles away; Wednesday morning
little over 2000 900 miles and Med
nesday evening the earth will be pass
ing through its tail. The present di
ameter Of the tail 1T the point through
which the earth Will pass is 4 little
over 100000 miles. The two bodies
will have a relative velocity Of about
As miles per second and the time re
quired for the passage, if the present
dimensions remain unchanged, will be
six or seven hours.
THE tails of comets usually lag
behind the straight line drawn from
the sun through the heads, for some
comets but little and for Others sew
eral degrees. The exact time the earth
viii enter the tail is accordingly un-
certain by several hours.
1T is true that comets are the most
mysterious bodies in the sky and that
many important questions concerning
their origin and extension remain un-
answered. We do know however, tnat
the tails are SO highly attenuated
that the most perfect laboratory VA
cuum is extremely dense in eompari-
SON 1t is probable that both minute
solid particles and isolated gas mo-
lecules are present in the tail, the
properties Of solid particles to
gas molecules varying IN ditierent
comets 1t seems to he a conservative
estimate that there is not more than
one particle or mOlecule, microscopic
in size. on The average per cubic yard
The earth's atmosphere win form
perfect protecting blanket against all
possible constituents of the tail. There
IS absolutely no cause or excuse tor
anxiety as To injurious effects. The
earth has passed through the tails
of many comets in past centuries and
such an event is of great scientific in
terest, not attended with the slightest
danger.
1T is very unfortunate that the
moon, nearly full viii interfere with
optical observations of the pheneme-
ma attending our passing through
the tail. II the moon were absent
there is little doubt that We should be
able 10 see the night sky family illu
minated ny that part of the tail which
projects through the earth. Because
of the possible and probable tagging
OF the tail, there is chance that we
may still be in the tail the latter part
of Wednesday night and that some cv-
idence of its presence may be seen in
the short interval between moon SCI
and dawn Thursday morning 1t is
not expected that the event will be
attended by meteoric display to any
extent There probably win be no
more meteors observable on Wedncs-
day than on other nights.
Astronomers of the Lick ObscrVa-
tory have been credited in newspa-
pers with the opinion that the tele-
graphic service viii not be affected
We have never expressed such an
opinion. II would not he surprising
Il telegraph transmission were inter
fered with as is the case when strong
AurOrae are present in the Sky. 1t is
not impossible that delicate apparatus
will be able to detect magnetic varia-
lions due to the presence of electrified
particles in the highest
strata of the earth's atmosphere
There might even be an Aurora Of
intensity, due to the elec
Irically charged particles visible to
he eye or made apparent by observa- I
tons of the spectrum.
Negroes Take Comet Pills.
New York, May Whatever tho 4
comet may do to this old earth the +
negroes of Port au Prince. Hayti. arc {
They are confident they (
viii so unscathed. because they are .
well hacked with comet pills
Officers OF the Hamburg American +
liner Allegheny in fIom Port au
Prince today said that all the negro