The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1910-04-15
Some Facts About
Comets.

Nothing, perhaps, among celese'a
bodies, arrests the attention and ex
cites the admiration of men as
comet.
In ancient times the strange aspec
of such a body, the pale CLEAN OF III
nebulous head, and the long tall TIA
sometimes resembled sword OF ME
would arouse in the mind of the De
holder fear and terror. In nj
ignorance and superstition and 10 th'
widest fancies of his irnag nation III
would forstell the dethronement o.
kings, the downfall Of nations, wars
plaques, and innumerable disasters
He believed that huge comet DIRE"
tse waters of the ocean out OF thell
accustomed beds and deluged she
earth, and that the Norman invasies
of England by william the ConQueror,
in 1896, was brought about by Hal
leys Comet acting as a guide.
When Newton announced his great
law of universal gravitation, and
HALEY applied 1t to the movements
of comets. aud predicted the return
Of the comet OF 1882 at the end OF rs
years, a fatal blew was struck at the
ancient supsrstitlOus,
The apparition of the famous
comet of 1s43 led to the foundation
OF the great Harvard College Observa
tory, instead of plunging the
Imagination into the very depths OF
terror and unreasou. Today o comet
is thing of beauty, an object of the
highest interest.
There are four characteristics In
which these hairy wanderers through
space differ from planets; Q) their
nebulous appearance and their tails;
(2) the great length of their clip.
tical orbits, as we'll as the orbits OF
those that never return; (3) the ia
elination of their orbits to the plane
OF the earth's orbit; ~ the direct
ions Of their motions-some from
west to east, some from east to west,
some from the depths of space above
US, and Others from the dep.h of
SPACE below us-all pursuing their
courses through the heavens ap-
parently without any unity OF plan.
TIE tails of these bodies are OF
three kinds. Some are long and
straight; some slightlG curved and
others much curved and bushy.
Hydrogen gas seems to be character
istc of the first kind, Hydrogen and
carbon, of the second, and carbon and
iron of the third,
The tail of the comet is always
directed from the sun, Why? The
best answer that can be given Is that
by the great Swedish scientist,
Arrhenius. In recent years 1t has
been shown that waves Of light EN-
mating from the sun, are powerful
enough to push before them PARTICLES
of hydro carbon, and perhaps solid
carbon in the state Of fine dust
Among the PARTICLES thus set free
will te many so small that the light
waves from the sun will drive them
away. This principle Arrhenius has
applied to the tails of comets. CLOUDS
of such PARTICLES will stream OF be-
bind the advancing comet, and the
tail will be produced, An account
OF the tremendous disturbances In
the head, as the body approaches the
sun, eruotions of vapor, due to the
solar beat, occur In its nucleus aud
immense glowing envelopes and
streamers are thrust out in advance,
but soon through the action OF light
waves, they take up their line or
march towards the rear aud then are
Incorporated with the tail.
During the last century, the years
1911, 1s43, 1858, 1874, 1880, and 1882
were rendered memorable fer the
magnificent displays of celestial
visitors. Two OF the most remark
able ever witnessed wsre, LIST, that OF
1911 with a head one million and a
quarter miles ia diameter, and End,
the splendid comet of DoDati, which
appeared In 1858. Each had tail Of
one hundred millions OF miles In
length, aud each was considered a
a special benefastOr to the grape
growers of France, for the reason
that a flavor was impaired to the
wine of that country that, 1t was
thought, only comet In some
mysterious way could bestow' The
wines Of those years are still known
as comet wines.
Three Of the comets of the century
those of 1913, 1880 aud 1882 In a very
psculiar way arrested the attention
of the astronomers The first and
third we're visible in broad day light
and passed pretty close to the SUM-
surface, so close that they plunged
NWa.aI