The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-05-15
1t Has Been Erected by Uncle Sam to Nightly
Photograph HalleyS Celestial Wanderer, Which
Never Had Its Picture Taken Before.

| sky direSty overhead. while at the pre-
Vious visitation. in 1850. II Is recorded 10
| have covered more than half this distance
! between horizon and zenith. This means
so many million miles through the heav-
| ems that astronomers hate TO think Of il.
| such bodies seem to have gathered more
material before ono visit 10 our neigh
| borhood than before another, and their
| span OF the heavenly dome cannot be
predicted until they spread to their
| maximum, as this comet will do May II.
AS TO how It's head Will compare that
date with the stars which We already
| know, IL Is difficult to predict. Some of
| the government astronomers tell inc that
| they expect 1t to be brighter than Sirius.
the brightest star Of the heavens. while
others merely say Il Will he brighter than
| the comet OF the past winter, ind still
others VIII make no prediction what
ever.
It will be compared with all sorts Of
familiar objects within the next few
weeks. Some who see IL. Will tell YOU
that it is no bigger than grain Of shot,
while others viewing II the same night
Will declare II to be as large as dime
or quarter The personal element
causes such comparisons to vary greatly.
mcrs tell Of a visit wh-c-l TWO senators
made at the naval observatory some
years ago. Prof Edgar Frisby was
showing them a planet through the big
telescope. and one senator declared IL
looked as big as Il nickel. while the other
was quite as sure that 1t appeared as
large as dollar. Finally they appealed
20 Prof Frsby, who. having this varia-
oillty OF human vision in mind. ssld.
''Well gentlemen, a nickel would prob
ably look as big to one of you as dollar
would to another
AS a matter Of fact. the senator whose
nickel appeared as big as the others dol
lar was poor man, while the other
was millionaire. But the astronomer
was too tactful a man to make matters
worse by explaining his real meaning
The government negatives will bc fled
away III series and VIII Furnish Il COM
plete history of the conner from the time
OF its first appearance until its fading
completely away late in the summer. II
will become invisible TO the naked eye
at the end OF July, but the Photographic
telescope will continue 10 catch IL for
A number OF weeks afterward.
Like Colossal Eskimo Hut.
While the comet camera is shooting
away at the western sky. Prof. Hall is at
work a stones throw away. In All odd
building which looks like a colossal E;ski-
mo hut of the shape Of those which
Peary photographed In the frozen north
The visitor approaching this dome at dusk
is surprised to see it revolve. like the tur
ret of battleshp. Then a vertical slit
opens toward the west and there peeps
out what appears even more IKE a can
mons mouth than the tube that previously
is the great equatorial telescope one
OF the largest on earth, The great lens at
I,s outer end is twenty six inches across
and Is one OF the five largest macnifying
glasses through which astronomers Will
peer al the comet. ! went into the circu-
lar room with Prof. Hall and he turned
switch on the side wall. Presently the
dome above my head appeared TO be clos
ing down upon us. as II TO smother out
our lives. Then 7 observed that in reality
we were standing upon a great elevators
floor. as round as a dollar and big enough
for ten couples to dance on comforta-
bly,.
A stand on which the big telescope was
balanced projected upward through a hole
in the center Of this platform which had
70 be raised that the astronomer might
get up to the eyepiece; for so long Is the
great tube that when pointed horizontal
" toward the West-as when focused
upon the comet-the eyepiece is a story
higher in the room than when the aim
is toward star overhead. Thus. In
stead OF balancing himself upon step
ladder. after the manner of his assistant
in the big camera box. Prof, Hall takes
the whole floor OF his room UP with
him for so long does he study the comet
on these nights that he must have a COM