Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-30
By Mary Proctor


.ory, sweeping the heavens with
is five and three-quarter- telescope, on
ne night of December 6, Zaccheus Daniel
graduate student of Princeton University
discovered a comet This is the third comet to
his credit. the other two being the comets of
lune, 1907, and June 1909. As IS usual IN such
asses the celestial visitor was named according
% the year of its discovery and after the one
who first detected its presence IN the sky. The
act that Mr.. Daniel has claim to three comets
ShowS that he is fairly entitled to membership
N the unique guild OF comet hunters, who
make it their special work to search for these
celestial visitors from the sky which have
way of suddenly blazing out when least ex-
pected.
Comet hunting is pursuit which may well
be taken up by amateurs with plenty OF spare
time on their hands, says Professor &. r.
Chambers, in his timely and interesting book,
80 The Story of Comets, because if the truth
must be told it involves immense waste of
time, with results that present themselves only
1T long intervals
Otherwise comet hunting may be said to
he an easy matter; for all that is required
is a telescope of moderate size from four to
six inches aperturel, clear horizon IN the
neighborhood of the sun either in the west
after sunset in the east before sunrise, and
plenty of patient, plodding perseverance on the
part of the observer An eyep1eCe OF low power
and with large field should always be used,
while sometimes enthusiastic seeker after
comets will provide himself with telescope
specially designed for the work and known as
a comet seeker" On the main roof of the
Yerkes Observatory, between the two small
domes is a comet seeker of six inches aperture
made by Professor Brashear of the Allegheny
Observatory, and many others are in use at
various observatorles.
Two French Hunters
MO definite effort made with regard to a
~ systematic search for comets until the close
pf he
astronomers devoted their time and energy to
careful hunt for these visitors from the star
depths. These Frenchmen, named Messler and
Pons, maintained friendly rivalry in the pur-
suit though disturbed occasionally by Others
who ventured to intrude, as it were, IN the
Cometary realms.
The following story is told of Messier by La
Harpe, showing the keen zest with which the
former sought comets, and his disappointment
when another captured the prize so nearly in
his grasp. Some years before, according to the
story, Messer lost his wife, and while caring for
her during the last few weeks of her illness he
was hindered from seeing comet for which he
was on the watch Meanwhile, Montague OF
Limoges found it, and Messier overcome
with chagrin when he heard the news.
After the death of his wife some one SYM
pathized with him regarding the loss he had
sustained Still thinking of his comet he re-
piled Alas! | have found twelve comets and
Montaigne has robbed me of my thirteenth. =
Thereupon tears filled his eyes Then, remem-
bering that it was for his wife he ought to
weep he remarked, "Ah, poor woman" but it
was really for the comet that he was weeping
In 1885 the King of Denmark, Frederick W.,
offered a prize of gold medal to all discov-
erers of telescope comets, and several such
medals were awarded. The grant of this medal
was continued after the Kings death in 1889
by his successor Christian WILL; but it was dis
continued after the death of the latter in 1S4S.
The Vienna Academy of Sciences formerly gave
gold medal to the discoverer of every new
comet; but this lasted only until 1880.
A House Built by Comets
THEN Professor H. H. Warner offered prize
l of two hundred dollars for every unexpected
comet found by observers in the United States
and Canada. This was an incentive for renewed
zeal in this direction, and gave rise to the fol-
lowing story related by Professor f. f. Bar
nard of the Yerkes Observatory, Williams Bay,
Wisconsin:
Times were hard in the last of the '70's and
the first of the SOS and money was scarce 1t
had taken all that could save to buy my small
telescope had been searching for comets for
upward OF year with no success, when prize
Of two hundred dollars for the discovery of each
new comet was offered by the founder of the
Warner Observatory, through the agency OF its