Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-02-22
WHEN THE COMET HITS US
WILL NOT HURT, BUT WILL
MAKE A PRETTY SHOW.
Peculiar Electrical Conditions Nav
Be Looked For About the
Middle Of May.

Astronomers have fixed the 18th of May
as the day of the passage Of the earth
through the tail Of Halley's comet, at
which time the celestial visitor will be at
| its most brilliant period on its perihelion
passage through the solar system.
| Comets come and go, and while in the
solar system assume various shapes of
circles, knots. twists and streaky tails
and then leave those on the earth for
ever in doubt as whence they come and
whittier they goa conclusion OF the ply
| sicist and astronomer.
But this spring when the comet comes
| 1t will afford the rare chance. as the
earth passes through its tail, OF learning
much In regard to comets and their ac-
| companying phenomena. This will in
clude distinctive markings as bright
| patches. streaks. straight and twisted,
many and various shapes of tails and
any other phenomena as may present it
self TO the observer.
Queer Things May Happen.
In the passage Of the earth through
| the tail of Halley's comet there will be
| polarization Of its hight, light fiuctua-
tons, earth currents, which mean a
| marked change in the electrical condition
Of the atmosphere-auroral displays may
be expected for several days at the in
tersection of the earth with the material
of the comet.
The color Of the sun will be Temporarily
modified in the eartt's passage through
| the tail. Twilight panorama, luminous
| clouds, dust particles in the air and the
apparent brilliancy of zodiacal light may
be greater during the passage through
even so rare a substance as the tail of
| comet. The auroral line will perhaps
| show up to be the most interesting and
| the most spectacular phenomena in the
| passage Of the earth through the comets
| tail.
DR.. Humphreys Of the Mount Weather
observatory, speaking of this phenomenon
| in science. says: Evidently the source of
this line as not definitely known, but con-
ceivably IL may be rendered more bril-
| liant by the passage of the earth through
the tail OF a comet, and therefore It would
be well for some favorably situated OBJ
| server carefully to measure its brilliancy
on several consecutive nights. SO selected
as Systematically to overlap the calculated
| date of our supposed passage through
the tail of Halley's comet
Like Colliding With Shadow.
The late Prof. 8. P. Langley said: THE
encounter of the earth with a comets
| tail would be like the encounter with a
shadow, and the chance OF a collision
| with the nucleus is remote indeed
| Some time about the middle OF May the
| earth will pass through the tail OF Hal
leys comet.
l. The real gist OF the stunt will be known
only to the mathematical astronomer. and
IL there should be a hitch in the perform
ance they would hardly have the oppor-
tunity TO explain the slip-up in the laws
Of gravitation.
| Far away in the depths Of space, so re-
| mote from our planetary system, lies the
future comet Across the abyss which
| iutervenes between the comet and the
sun the law of gravtation extends its
sway. After the lapse of centuries, or
thousands Of years, the comet is seen to
/ be rapidly approaching-it whirls around
the sun, and then recedes further and
further, perhaps never again to return to
our system.