New Iberia enterprise and independent observer. (New Iberia, La.) 1902-1944, 1910-05-14

COMETS ThIL.

| Inc eartn, was tne V!eulct'On lHauc
| by DR.. A. b. Dinwddie, Of Tu-
| lane, in a most in Cresting address
before the Louisiana Engineering
Society, at Gibson Hal, Tuane
| University last Monday night in
New Orleans, but Or. Neptune
turned it from its course into
quick getaway to some other
planet far removed from the
track Of the mysterious stranger,
nor was he in the least bit wor-
ried.
eyes, he said, as he smiled,
eve are liable to Craze that tail,
but" he added reas>uringly,
chats al, there II ,be to it. Why,
Why, we might go5 bright through
the center of the tail, and never
know it, and I'm pretty safe in
telling you that you won't be
killed On May 49,"
DR.. Dinwiddie, in his premise,
said that it was very evident that
the approach Of the comet was oc
cupying the attention of the pub
lie mind, and everybody wanted
! to know the worst. We'll, the
worst is not very bad" remarked
the speaker.
Where that comet came from
originally we don't know the
speaker went on, "but we do
know where it comes from now.
It's been coming now for sew
enty-five years, and we knew it
nothing happened to it, it would
be just in such a position tonight,
and such position on the night
of May 49,
DR.. Dinwiddie, explained that
comets come from somewhere out
in space, beyond the furthest
planetary orbit, make the course
around the sun once, and then go
out into space again, to be heard
of never again The force that
makes it come isSthe same force
of gravitation that makes an OBJ
iect fall to the earth, when re-
leased from the hand. 1t is the
force of the sun that pulls it in
toward the earth. Halley's comet
underwent some change in its
course to the sun. DR.. Dinwiddie
explained; it came near Neptune,
which is the uttermost of the
planets, and Neptune turned it
from it's course into an elipse, a
round curve. This will continue
around the sun seventy-five or
seventy-six yearss1untis pulled out
of the curve by some other planet.
Tn 1S4S the comet will be outside
of Neptune, which is thirty-'wo
hundred million miles from the
earth.
DR.. Dinwiddie drew a diagram
showing the sun. with the various
planets and their relative distan-
ces from the great orb OF day.
+, He said that Hallcy's comet was
discovered first on Sept. II. 1909.
It was then only luminous patch
outside of Mars. As the comet
draws nearer the sun seems to
stimulate it in some way. DR..
Dinwidde stated that although
the sun had the power TO draw
the comet in 3,2O0,000,000 miles.
It did not draw the partlc ls
which fell from the wanderer in
ward. The particles go backward
and from the comets tail. The
particles are probably so small
that the strong light of the sun
drives them backward. The tail,
the speaker explained further, is
not an essential part of the comet /;
it is the part that falls from the
head.
"The tail this morning, when |
saw it." observed DR.. Dinwiddle,
chad an enormous sweep, and 1T
was the finest ever saw, with the
exception of the one in 1882.
J "To get back to the question,
that comet is the biggest thing in
the sky. It's head is from 10000
to 100000 miles in diameter. |
should say from 10000 to $4,000
niles across. The tail ranges in
length from 100000 to 100000
900 miles. The comet of 1882 had
a tail 100000 900 miles long and
, a head 100000 miles across. A
very little Of that comet could hit
us considering its length. How
much does it weight SO little
that we can't weigh it. We can
say that if it weighed as much
as one hundred thousandth the
weight of the earth. wed know it
might hit the earth in 15,0OO,OOC
years.
DR.. Dinwiddie continued that
most of the comets weight was
in the head. It might be made
up Of particles highly electrified
with a density of one-sixfh OF
our atmosphere. As one astron
omer said, htere might be one
molecude Of gas in about one cubic
mile. and DR.. Dinwiddie assured
his hearers that even if the come'
hit the ear,h one molecude of ga
would do to abridge the days Of
only one individual. as nj te.
cude of gas. unlike radinm, beinf
altogether indivisible. Tae tai
6f the comet is the rarest thinf
known. DR.. Dinwiddie next said
it is the next thing to zero as t
density.
The speaker had read an arti
Gle by one famous astronomer
L