The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1910-05-20
HALLEY'S COMET
SPEEDING AWAY
PASSED BETWEEN EARTH AND sun WEDNESDAY
Caused No Convulsions Of Nature d A.
parent Atmospheric Dishr-
Dances

Halley's comet, which has been
the subject of worldwide discussion
for months past and whose coming
within the range Of human vision
after an absence of seventy-five years
had long been awaited with interest
by everyone who heard of it and
with superstitious dread and awe
by great numbers of people, passed
between the earth and the sun We'd
nesday night without causing any
known convulsions of nature or ap-
parent atmospheric disturbances.
On that day the earth was enveloped
in the comets tail for a few hours
and passed through, or across, about
one million miles of it. The head
of the comet was then distant about
13, ,000, 900 miles from the earth, as
compared with 5000, 900 miles at
the time Of its last previous appear
ance in 1885. It is now speeding
away into space at tremendous speed
estimated at 1926 miles per minute,
and will not return for seventy-ive
years. While it has been visible to
the naked eye in the early morning
at some points along the Pacific
coast for the past week or more, in
the eastern sky, it should, astronom-
ers say, be visible in the western sky
in the evenings for some days after
today. The best view will be OBJ
tainable next Monday evening, May
%, when there will be a total
eclipse of the moon, probably be-
tween 9 and 10 p. m, thus enabling
us to see both. the head n sil Of
this wonder of The heavens in d dark
sky for an interval Of Is minutes.
The head of the comet will be bright
est today but the strong moonlight
will dim the nebulous light of the
tail so that it may not be visible.
Edwin Emerson, in his Comet
LORE says:
''The close approach Of a comet to
the earth affects and disturbs men, S
brains, so that men are inwardly
stirred with warlike impulses.
Hence the great wars almost invar-
iably following the appearance of
comets. Hence, too, the appeal to
| comets made by so many conquer
ors, from William the Conqueror
down to Napoleon. :. Hannibal
committed suicide on account Of a
comet. So did Mithridates. So
| did Louis Tomas, a wealthy land
owner Of Hungary only a few weeks
ago. King Louis, the Debonair,
of France, died from fear of comet.
So did Louise of Savoy, mother OF
i Francis /. Of France. Emperor
Charles v. was so moved by the ap-
pearance of a comet in 1856 that he
gave up his imperial crown and be
came monk
In the Scientific American few
weeks ago, Mr.. H. w. Griggs said:
| "Halley's comet is noteworthy
because it was the first comet fol
which an orbit was plotted and q
] time table calculated. 1t has his
tory more or less identified with the
history Of human thought and civil
zation. The superstitious dread
| with which it was regarded in me
dieval times swayed many mon
arch. It was instrumental in form
| ing the policies Of Louis le Debon
air in 837. It blazed in the sky
when the Turks threatened to over
run Europe in 1856, and when thu
Reformation was at its height II
1881. It struck terror to the Sax
ons under Harold in 1866, when they
were conquered by William Of Nor
mandy. This fear Of the middle
ages was dispelled only when Hal
,lley made his great prediction u
8 1882 that the comet would returl
in 1853, a prediction which wa
verified after the great astrOnome
! was in his grave.
A comet which has reappeare'
regularly for over two thousan!
3 years must be composed Of faiFl
enduring stuff. Just what its con
8 position may be, the present reaI
3 pearance. will for the first time g
3 able us to tell, for in 1885 the spes
8 troscope was not invented nor astxS