The Cairo bulletin., 1911-06-16

icause II such let's and spoilation
fhis !, The MIX aal OF the eSistig
pprcofs Of ,.upiter's thieyery among
the eometfry Wanderers, The paths
Of The comets are mere to show them
| selves.
However, Jupiter has been caught
almost redhanded in his raids among
the comets. Mo- content with a fam
lily OF nearly twoscore he is constan-
iy reaching out into space and tug.
glng at all the phospherescent war
cerers chat pass by, Now and then
ne drass one in just few millions q
miles nearer his own tail throue1
The heavens. In case he fails at thu
hrst attempt there is always another
chance some time in the future
sooner or later the wanderer viii
sweep back through the solar system
and then jGniter can afford to make
another trial. 1t has AIKEN half a
eozen efforts on his part to capture
some OF his present family There
is no indicator. trat it will ever be
less as the orbits of many Of them
grow shorter at every rea3pcara1ce
because OF the pail that is constantly
reexerted upon them.
Back in 1889 man named Brooks
found a comet /; was named for
him, and its fragments are still
known as the Brooks comet In
1919 it swung in near the banded
disk OF Jupiter, and when ii finally
broke away from HE frightful pail
eXeftcd upon it The body OF the comet
was broken up into five distinct see
lions. There were indications that
a part Of the hairy star had van
ished. Possibly the giant, already
81 ,oGo miles in diameter had attract
"a "a his srea, mass a portion OF the
Slsecus constituents that had made !
M this much-harassed wanderer
Will Return to Battle.
In 1917 it win return 70 renew the !
unequal battle, bal at that time the |
stain viii not os great. Jupiter will |
re in disant part of his orbit when |
The Brooks CONG. crosses his trail |
However, i'll 1894 the battle royal |
will be waged letveen the tiantic |
sphere, and ,ae ,@oubled visitor from
a.ar, 1t will encounter he planet in !
IT. catward swing away from the sun.
Whether it will ever complete this |
flight into space is doub ful. 1t is !
possible thai Jupiter will then and |
there complete the wreckage of the /
hairy star hat he mas been attcak-
ing for the last century. As far back !
as 1870 visitor afterward called |
Lexell's comet passed by the earth |
On headway race through the solar !
syst EN-.
The head OF this wanderer came |
nearer to The earth than any comet
has ever core since, It's period was
igared and found 10 be five and !
years. Astronomers were
astonished ina so bright a visitor
should have been in the earth's |
1eighborhood five years before and |
have remained unseen. Doubtless it |
had been making these visits at reg
liar periods for unknown ages, and |
he wonder grew that ii had never
been discovered before. Close scru-
-iny Of astronomical records failed to
ind any mention OF t.
The scientific world shrugged its
shoulders and shook its head The
mystery was too deep for the savants
If the Eighteenth century The
French Institute of Science offered q
1rize to any one who might solve the
puzzle. This started the investiga.
ion to work on more careful |
search, and it was found that this
wanderer had actually
appeared but six years before the
IN undoubjed orbit of iorty.eight
}ears, How then did it come to be
comet of a short period, so short, in
TACT, that II dashed back around the
sun in l!tle less than six years af-
err It's first disappearance?
How came IT to shorten that |
period Of forty, eight years to a little |
less than an eighth of that period? |
lust at this point the Frenchmen |
ound themselves baffled. No one
suspected the big dotted and belted |
globe of Jupiter of being the real
cause OF the mysterious actions OF
The runaway comet. Jupiter had
happened along on his yearly trail
lust inside the comets orbit and had
keit pace with the eerie visitor for
four months. Al tines they were 80
near each other that Jupiter's pull
upon the comet was three times
greater than thai Of the sun. Being
IN the inside Of the comets trail Ju-
tier managed to pull the wanderer