The San Francisco call., 1910-05-19

Switched by Tail OF Celestial
Vagrant With the Gentlest
Sort of Caress
EIGHT HOURS IN THE
TENUOUS COSMIC VAPOR
Fears of the SuperstitiOus, Who
Looked for Dreadful Catas-
trophies, Prove BaseIess
HUGE SPOTS FRECKLE
THE FACE OF THE sun
Especial Dispatch TO The Call

II lex OBSERVATORY, Mount
II Hamilton, May 18.-Three great
- telescopes have swept the heav-
ems increasingly all day and all night,
searching among the planets, follow
ing the consultations in their journeys
through space. peering with their
piercing eyes through the allcyways
of the universe for trace of Halley's
comet, which swept across in its path
with the sweep of the sun, losing its
brilliancy in the dazzle of the greater
luminary. All day and night scientists
followed the wheeling of the cosmic
bodies, but for all their vigil nothing
of the vagrait was seen.
What may be seen at o'clock to-
morrow morning, when the bright
moon, which has drowned whatever
of sweeping tail or luminous glow that
might otherwise have been seen, has
set, the astronomers hardly venture
to surmise- There may be but a faint
glow seen, or perhaps meteors and
awe inspiring kind.
Dimmed by Sun
So dazzling has been the alternate
brilliance of the sun and the moon that
tfe astronomers have not been able to
point to any phenomena that showed
the earth had passed through the
comets tail This apendage is so light.
so tenuous, that Observer w. w. Camp
bell could not satisfy himself by any
means that we were actually passing
through the rear guard of the speed
burner. Eight hours were consumed in
this passage. however. and 1,OOOO OO0
miles of the tail were encountered by
the earth.
The tail is tagging behind the comet
now, because of some unknown phe-
nomena. and not following it closely
as of old.
Nothing Is Seen
All day and night DR.. w. w. Camp
bell. director of the observatory. with
/ DR. H. b. Curtis, DIR. III. B, Aitken and
/ Dr. W. H. Wright. examined the skies
at five minute intervals in an endeavor
| to discover the comet they knew was
/ between them and the sun. But their
efforts were vain. and they were not
able even to see spot on the sun made
| by the comets body. Mariners every
where on the Pacific have been on the
| lookout for the comet all day, however,
! and it is thought that some of the more
| learned shipmasters will bring in
charts and reports of the mucah sought
wanderer. Out on the Pacific the posi-
tion for viewing the comet was much
better all day than from this spot.
This morning at 3 o'clock an OBJ
servation was taken, and the tail of
the comet discovered to be 122 degrees.
or 100000 miles. in length. But. as
the tail points away from the sun and
so we get more nearly lengthwise
than sidewise view OF it. the ap-
pendage is undoubtedly in reality much
longer than the figure given.
Better Results Today
DR.: Campbell has high hopes of wit
Messing some interesting phenomena.
I at O'Clock tomorrow morning. when
/ the moon sets. At this time. shortly
/ after midnight. the astronomers are
! discussing the possibility Of seeing the
/ glow of the tail. when darkness is
granted by the moons disappearance.
or perhaps the fall of meteors or the
sweep of shooting stars
VAGARIES OF THE BIG
COMETS TAIL NOTED
By Director w. w. CAMPBELL
OF the Lick Observatory at Mount
Hamilton