The evening world. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1887-1931, 1912-06-04

IN diameter, for IL was
small comet, and was COM
posed Of grains and masses Of
- stone and meteoric iron. Many
q The grains were no larger than peas
or mustard seeds: no mass was more
than four feet In diameter. and all of
them had very irregular shapes. The
epace between the particles was never
less than one hundred times their
masssaL
I'VE can move about within IT," said
Ayrauit, - the Callisto entered the az
gregat,on Of particles and moved slowly
forward among them.
The windows In the dome. being made
Of toughened glass. set somewhat slant
ingiy 90 a. to defect anything touching
them, and having. moreover. the pres
sure Of the inside air to sustain them.
we're fairly safe. while the windows IN
the sides and base wore but little ex-
posed. Whenever a large mass seemed
danserc usly near the glass. they applied
an apergetic shock to II and sent 1t
kiting among its fellows. At these times
the Caliisto recoiled slightly also. the
resulting motion in either being In In
verse ratio to It's weight. There was
constant and incessant movement among
the Individual fragments. but II was not
-
about anything else: all were moving.
apparently swinging back and forth. tut
!. no collisions took place. When the sep
Aarate particles got more than certain
apart they reapproached one
Coy other. but when seemingly within
tiokout one hundred diameters OF each
rher they swung or in some other di-
.Jtion. After time the Callisto
tmed to become endowed with the
e1ame property that the fragments pos
sessed; for II and they repealed one m
other, on a near approach aiter which
nothing came near.
Much OF the material was like Stag
from a furnace. having evidently been
partly fused Whether this heat was the
result Of collision or Of Its near ap-
prosch to the sun at perihelion they
could not tell. though the latter expla-
nation seemed most simple and proba-
BILE. When at about the centre OF the
nucleus they were In OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
twilight, for any ray that succeeded In
penetrating was dazzlingly brilliant, and
the shadows, their own included, were
tnky black. As they approached the
farther side and the sunlight decreased.
thsy found that diffused luminosity
DervAded everything. II was sum ciently
6gaght TO enable them to see the dark
~ Of the meteoric masses, and. on
0oDoII1uH from the nucleus IN total DARK
oaGn, they found the shadow stretchina
thousands Of miles before them into
QAo&
= now understand" said Bearwarden
way stars Of the sixth and seventh
0sSnitude can ne seen through thou
0nn6s Of miles Of comets tail. 1t II
hmnsy because there 10 nothing In II
The reason any stars are obscured Is
eeoauss the Hight in the tail, however
faint, - brighter than they, and thai
light 10 all that the caudal appendag'
consists OF. though what produces II
confess I am unable to explain. I also
see Why the tail always stretches away
from the sun, because near by Il
overwhelmed BY the moro powerful
Night; In fact. I suspect It is principals
IN the comets shadow that the tail II
visible. It IL strange that no one evei
thought of that before. or that any on'
feared the earth's passing through thu
tail Of a comet. II u obvious to me nov
that II there were any material sub
stance. any gas. however rarefied. II
this hairiike accompaniment. II would
Immediately fall to the comparatively
hsavy head and surround that as cen
tire"
.Ufow, then" asked Cortlandt. DO 20,
ecoount for the spaces between thos'
soonest However sIisht gravitatioI
mAght be between some Of the grains. 8
q existed at oil. or was unopposed b.
soms other force. with sufficient time
and they have eternity-every como