The Spokane press. [volume] (Spokane, Wash.) 1902-1939, 1910-02-27


The mere entry Of all that mass or
flaming sodium, cyanogen, hydrosen'
acetylene. with. perhaps. sprinkle or
radium, might we'll have transformed
the atmosphere into an explosive mix
ture that would have put maximite 10
shame.
Rut the effects of such an encounter
luckily. are left entirely to conjecture;
the comet was not coming our way 1t
has missed everything. But that tact
does not belittle the warning that II
has given. When flying automobile
driven by speed-crazed chauHeur
turns away from group or 1r'sht-
paralyzed children in the street anu
leaves them stunned with amazemeh'
IN it's wake of dust and noXious vapor'
tbere Is no assurance that the next
NAV not turn the fatal way. A
1910" has proved to the startled appre-
bersion of everybody that there are
'ioy rides" in the heavens as well as
OH the earth. 49,. $500, ,own tbis
and have given warning OF 1t, thouSn
they are unable to make any dennite
nrediction Comets are too erratic ioI
that. Among the iast V l1ney pe was the
staten,ent that some time 1t is maine,
maticaiIy certain that a comet VIII
strike the earth. The well-snown c com
ets like Halley's are tagged. ana tnelt
movnments may be to certain extern;
foretold. But it is not 50 with sucn
comet as this. which no man mas ever
seen before. It's sudden app aypf1 he great
orh nf day by binding US to what may
ba' concealed by its light keeps US IN
Ignorance Of what space contains on
thG ua tS,S eense the night is safer than
Tho day. But even II we could defect
a comet coming head-on through me
or or to turn it aside. 1t would be pos,
sible 10 estimate its size. It's speed, an9
The part of the planet that II w9uin
strike. but before that comlo w ne doh he
81 near that but few hours. perhaps
would remain before its blow would
fall, and then it would be TOO iate 10
set away. A vast extent OF territory
might be neutrality-suspicious. Whoie
State. or large part Of continent
and how could tens Of millions OF Peo
would need to cover thousands OF miles
with more than the speed or the wlno!
such danger. though remote. Is real,
and its reality has never b nesn r' are
prehension than by the remarkable
career Of this new comet.
Opinions differ as to the POSSIBLE e,
earth in May. contains salt. bu' It
e epobably a nsH" with other sub
stances not yet identified 1t has been
s and t Gomet tns A- ISL likely 10
meet In space. This Is incorrect. For
a time hey appeared to be moving
toward each other; but this was mere
iv en- effect of perspective. for their
real courses are widely different anu
strangeness Of the new comet, ITS OK,
It's tail. which, according to some re-
norris. at one time had two divisions,
one pointing south and the other
west. have served for time TO WIN
draw much OF the attention whiGn was as
being given to Halley's comet. But IN
the eni the latter may. prove to DC
the more Immediately interesting to
us. because of the expected encounter
with its tail already referred to.
One great difference between ha!iey
comet and "A.191O" Is In the nearness OIL
their approach to the sun. The new
IL. when it's distance from the sun did
not exceed $3.50 900 miles. 1t Is no Won
der that 1t then blazed with extraordin-
airy splendor, for at that distance the
fagration The heat Of a Summers day
would be increased more than 60O-iold.
HaIley's comet will never get nearer than
81, 200, 900 miles from the sun.
Whence the new comet came nobody
knows as yet. Probably 1t Is one of
from the Infinite depths beyond the solar
system, and when they go away either
nv of on parabollc orbits never to return,
or recede so far that thousands of years
must elapse before they can pay another
visit to this neighborhood.