The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1910-03-11

Halley's comet has been traced back
definitely to the year II, b. c. Chinese
astronomers recorded that visitation
and subsequent ones. Some authori-
ties trace it back to 500 years B. G.
On its return this yea it was dis
covered almost exactly in the region
Of space where eminent mathematic-
ians had computed its position. At
that time it was over 800. 600, 900 miles
from the sun. That was in Septem-
Der. At midnight on December /, it
was on the meridian, a few degrees
south of exactly overhead. 1t APP
preached the earth to within 125, 000.-
900 miles, but comet n earth are
separating nov owing to contrary
orbital motions. 1t is rapidly APP
proching the sun and March cath will
be exactly on opposite side Of the sun
from the earth. as you will note in
the diagram showing positions and
dates April goth it will swing out
in the morning sky, then ~appearant-
ly back toward the sun, but in reality
swinging in to pass between sun and
earth. about May 18Th. 1t will be in
visible for a short time before and
after this event, and then will appear
in the evening sky, and slowly vanish
ing will return again to the point of
its appelion, several hundred millions
Of miles beyond the orbit Of Neptune,
whence our sun would be a glow
worm light in q cosmic night.
A little westward of directly over
mead about eight o'clock in the even
ing, il you care to look. you will no.
tice a little cluster of stars; the
Pleiades. Only a few degreese west is
the ruddy star, Mars. and about half
way down the sky is a star of yellow
ish hue, Saturn, these mark almost
exactly the comets path in January.
High in the northeas st is the Big
Dipper. Everybody knows some
thing about the Dipper. Notice
the star at the bend in the handle--
Mizar, and notice nesting closely to
it a companion of much lesser light;
Alcor. You may have to look sharply
to see 1t. for the ancient Arabians ac-
counted it a test of eyesieht to dis
cover it. Richard A. Proctor SAYS
that the distance separating those
stars is so great that the orbit of the
great m Of 1911 would only span
one-fourth Of it. The comet of 1871
ha' an orbit six times as great as
Haliey's comet. This means that YOU
could place twenty-four HALEY comet
or its end to end and have a chain
barely long enough to connec. these
two stars, The orbit of Hallev's
comet is hetween ~thirtv-fve and forty
thousand millions of miles.
Divide a mile into inches: the inch
would represent the distance of the
earth from the sun. and the mile, the
distance i would take the suns light
TO travel in a year: a light year; as It
Is termed technically. And yet. there
are stars so remote it is affirmed.
tfeir li"ht would not reach us in a
Thousand ears.
Wonderful, is it not? But listen to
this from an astronomer who stands
among the first in this country TODAY.
Prof. Edgar Iarkin of Mount Lowe
observatory. says that the thousands
of stars we see by natural vision NAV
be cast aside as negligible in comp,1t
ing the sun and world material in
the Universe.
Please don worry about what il
going to happen from this visitation
of Halley's comet. There is "directiv-
ity in matter" and all IL held
by leash of law.
Get in the attitude Of mind Emer-
son was when an enthusiastic re-
Hgionist declared tho world would
speedily end on q given date. The
srea transcenIentalist redecteda NO.
ment and said: well. I guess I can
set along without Il