Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-05-20

is all one. These things are all left to
to those strange, impractical dreamers,
who talk of millions and billions Of
miles as surveyors do links and chains,
and whose research is generally ac-
counted of but little Importance to
! mankind.
But in view of the events of the past
few weeks, and especially the past few
DAYS, 1t will have to be admitted that
there come times when even the i'm
practical astronomer has his inning.
And that is not difficult to explain.
Away, months ago when there was no
sign Of anything unusual in the sky,
, the astronomers told us that during
April and May there would appear in
| the eastern heavens n brilliant star
| with a fiery tail. They said they knew
| this to be a fact, because away back
seventy five years ago, this same OBJ
ject had appeared and they had fig
ured out its travels around and through
limitless confines of space over q total
distance of something like eight bill
lion miles, and that on May Is, between
9 and IL p. m. we would actually pass
through the tail of this mysterious Wis.,
itor. This story, supported by the ac-
tual appearance Of the thing predict
ed was well calculated to make even
the most unimaginative take notice.
and when these same astronomers be-
gan to debate with each other whether
or not the mysterious wanderer
through space might come into contact
with the earth on which we live and
send it, along with all who live on it,
to oblivion, who is to blame every in
telligent creature for watching fur
tier proceedings.
1t is probably a fact, that people
generally have studied more astronomy
during the past few weeks than ever
before in their lives. They have re-
called the falling of the stars in 1888
and again in 1866, they have recalled
the distance to the moon at 23S,000
miles, and wondered again at the in
conceivable 95,OO0,00O miles between
here and the sun. And in the contem-
plation Of all these things, they have
been impressed with the utter insig
nificance of this little earth, a mere
bubble in space and realized how it
is easily possible for all that the as
tronomers have told us to be true.
AS the result of it all, thousands and
thousands Of people everywhere, in
Guiding many in this locality, sat up
Wednesday night to be a witness to
whatever might come to pass. But
there was nothing unusual in this i'm
mediate locality. The night was clear,
the moon was beautiful, many stars
could be seen, and there were a few
meteors: but that was ALL There was
no auroral glow from the comets tail,
no noxious gases, no rain of fire, moth
ing to alarm anybody.
Reports from the northwest are to
the effect that brilliant auroral displays
were seen from Williams Bay, Wis;
but the astronomers say these had
nothing to do with the comet. The
observations at Washington, San Jose,
Cal, Chicago and elsewhere, report
unusually large spots over the sun dur
ing Wednesday; but as to just what
connection these have with the comet,
has not yet been figured out.
The astronomers announce that the
passage of the comet between tine earth
and sun, was made without mishap,
and that the fiery visitor is now again
on it's seventy-five year trip over its
eight billion mile course through space.
1t was last seen in the east just be-
fore sunrise. but the next time it will
be seen from the earth will be Saturday
or Sunday night in the west just after
sunset.