Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1910-05-18
VIII Be Nearest to Us During
Wednesday Night
"A CELESTIAL SEARCHIIGHT"
Close Student Of Visitor Says No
Poisonous Gases Will EnveIop Earth
and Expects Nothing More Than
Great Condensation of Atmospheric
Observation-Disclosures Say Comet
Bodies Are Not Solid Masses1

Washington, May 16.-Halley's
comet will be greeted Wednesday night
on its closest approach to the earth by
a bristling array of telescopes flanked
by rapid lenses in the cameras of the
naval observatory.
The government observers are pre-
pared for the phenomenon and elabor-
ate calculations have been made as to
the minute and second the comet will
be at given places in the heavens,
where it will be observed and photo
graphed.
Among the scientists there Is some
difference of opinion as to the effect
the comet will have upon the earth,
but the differences are minor. Pro-
fessor Hall of the naval observatory
would not be surprised If there were
a shower of meteorites. He advances
his theory with the same calmness
that he would prophesy shower of
rain.
Others-and they appear in the ma
jority-expect no disturbance will
mark the passing of the comet. Ed
win F. Naulty of New York, who has
been at the observatory making tele-
scopic and spectroscopic observations
of the visitor, contends that such a
shower as Hall deems possible cannot
occur.
'Halley's comet, to all intents ant
purposes. is a celestial searchlight.
said Nauhy. 1T is nothing more thar
sunlight condensed from radiant sola,
energy and processed through thu
solar system, precisely as a len
focuses, condenses ana transmit
light.
He asserts that the tail or the come
is not composed of gas OF Of meteOri
particles of matter or OF meteori
bodies. The entire solar system
Naulty says, is filled with gases il
varying states of density. All thes
gases, poisonous and poisonous
are present in the earth's atmospher
in dense form.
There will be no collision of tn
earth and comet" continues Naulty
nor will the earth be enveloped i
poisonous gases. The effect of tn
passage may be to cause great con
densation of atmospheric vapors, S
that automatically the earth will b
provided with a sort of shield whic
will act like a lead screen used to pro
tect X-ray operators.
Astronomers are curious to kno
whether the fact will be known whe
the tail of the great comet SWEEP
across the earth. 1t was not know
in the case of the. comet of 1861, tn
scientists not knowing of the pass
age until it was all over and the faC
learned by computing the figures.
In the case of Halley's, it is est
mated that the comet will pass entire
ly across the face of the sun in abol
an hour, so rapidly is it travelling.
may take about the same length
time for the earth to pass through IL
tail of the comet. If, however, IL
tail is curved greatly and the cart
passes through a diagonal section
the passage will take longer.
Astronomers who have made tho
ough study of comets say that in the
opinion these bodies come far fro
being solid masses, as some laymt
believe. They are certain if this fro
the fact that on various occasion
when observations were made
comets, some of the brighter sta
were seen directly through the he;
of the comet.