The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-03-26

! the western end of the Belt of Orion. It's apparent motion carried it first through
 Taurus and then into Gemini during the
 latter constellation into the faint group of stars known as the Lynx.
 When new comet ss thus found moving among the stars it is only necessary to determine accurately it's position on three different nights: knowing these three positions the mathematician can com pute it's exact path in space and tell
 where it was to be found on the heavens at any desired date, either in the past or in the future. Nearly all comets fall toward our sun from an immense dis tance away, swing around that body and recede into space, never to be seen by us again. The paths of such comets is curve, called a parabola, which closely | resembles the curve MPN, Figure ?. | The long computation necessary to find how comet is moving is much shortened ] if we assume in the beginning that it's
 path is curve of this kind. Continued observations on the present comet soon showed, however, that its motion couid by no means be accounted for on the as- sumption of such an infinite path. A complete computation soon revealed that it's orbit is very small and narrow ellipse, AC, extending from beyond the earth's orbit to very slight distance be- yond the orbit of Jupiter The comet passes completely around this path every six years: it was nearest the sun on last January 30 and is now rapidly drawing away from the earth.
 HOW COMET WAS CAPTURED
 A comet is great nebulous cloud, com rosed of meteoric matter, gases and oosmc dust, which falls toward our sun from the depths of space. It is, there fore, visitor--and it can only visit us once unless it is disturbed in it's motion. If, however, it happens to pass sufficient ly near one of the planets. the gravita- tioral pull of this body may either send it out of our Solar System faster than | it entered, or it may cause it to move in a closed orbit and thus prevent it's ever leaving us again. Thus, when Tut ties Comet first fell toward the sun, along the path MPN, Figure 3, it passed so near to Uranus that the disturbing pull of this planet caused it to follow i the path AC,' and later planetary dis, /, turbances have since altered this path I to the position BC.
 1 Computation shows that the new comet ! rassed close to Jupiter in 1913. The pull upon it by the giant planet at this time
 must have very greatly altered it's path. ! changing it into the new, small orbit | ;.long which it is moving now. Whether before this disturbance it's path was parabola so that it entered our system
 only three years ago, or whether 1t is
 merely one of the older periodic comets
 whose path has thus been changed, we
 do not yet know. Further computations | will undoubtedly, however, soon settle l this point.
 l The continued observation of these periodic comets at their successive re-
 turns is of the highest interest and value. /, In at least one case, that of Encke $ 1 Comet, the motion was found to be dis turbed along part of it's orbit, dis unce which cannot be due to the pull Of
 any known body in our Solar System.
 THE APRIL SHOOTING STARS
 This is one of the few conspicuous 1 showers of the year, anc i'iougn not so we'll known or so numerous in stars
 as those of August and November. it is srlll a most interesting phenomenon Tor the naked eye observer It should be Hooked for on the nights from April <,
 to 22 and if possible at a late nour of l the evening; it cannot indeed, be seen
 to the best advantage until after mid night.
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