Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-04-06

shot past, people in this country SOLD
their property and preared for sudden
DEATH while more conservative alarm1stS
who believed that Halley's comet had
some mysterious message were On every
hand.
Science says It Is about time that peo-
pie did a little thoughtful reasoning, ina
stead Of flying off at a tangent every tiny
they happen to learn that comet is pass
ing a few million miles off
1t is regarded as possible that comet
might come into contact with the earth.
The comets that we greet by name every
time they whiz by are speeding around
the sun as the earth is The sun is pull
ing on them, but they do not smash into
1t because the lanets, Jupiter, Saturn
and Uranus, or Neptune, also exert
Pull. This joint influence keeps the comet
in its path. But If its loses some OF It's
weight, as 1t supposedly is doing all the
time the comet travels more swiftly, ard
the pull Of gravitatiOn is affected, so
that the comets course changes some
what
COMET CARRIES
POISON GAS.
II this course changed very radically,
in time a comet might head on toward
the earth What would happen then no.
body knows, because nobody knows ex-
actly what a comet is made Of. We krsT
something about the tail-that 1t is GEM
orally millions Of miles in length, some"
times over 100,0O0,000 miles. The tail 10
supposed to contain poisonous gas, but
so vaporous Is this streameF Of light that
If it came into contact with the earth
very little Of the poison would withstand
the resistance o fthe earths atmosphere.
In 1861 astronomers declared that the
earth did actually pass into the long va
porous tail Of a comet to a depth of 213,-
600 miles. but there was no discomfort
nor interruption to business.
But If the comet itself, the nucleus,
should strike the earth. It might easily
mean the end Of us. A Weather Bureau
expert has figured the possible effect
supposing the comet head were similar
in force to a small iron ball about SAB
miles in diameter, and weighing 100000
tons. Such a ball travelling as a comet
does and overtaking the earth would
strike with a velocity of not less than
seven miles a second. Comprising the ef-
/ feet Of this impact with the effect of a
she'll fred from g big naval gun, he says,
/ the striking energy of the comet would
be more than 5000, 100000 tons-a force
so immense that man cannot even dimly
| comprehend 1t.
But the jolt would be only one result Of
the meeting of the earth with a comet
The heat generated by the impact, he
says, If expressed in Galleries, would have
to be written 81 ,053 followed by seventeen
ciphers, or 2,105, 300, 600. 900 600 OO0, COO II
the entire earth were covered with water
to a depth Of S4.5 feet, this much heat
would raise all that water from freezing
to the boiling point. The chief conso-
! lation, if such catastrophe were immi-
nent, would be its suddenness.
But while all this is considered pos
sible, the weather man adds that the
chances Of a comet actually striking our
little globe are one to PSI, 100000 Here
again, the figure is so large that we do
not get much Of an idea Of what it :
means. Arago, the astronomer, expls~
II like this: The danger of death ITO
each individual would be exactly equal
to the danger he would incur, supposing
that in an urn containing 281 .000, 900 balls
there should be only one white ball, and
that he would be condemned to death
| should he draw the white ball.
1t seems certain that none of the comets
whose ways astronomers have catalogued
could endanger the earth for thousands
of years. Automobiles, and shotguns, and
live wires are a much more reasonable
cause for fear than the comets.
THIS ONE PROBABLY
HARMLESS.
We can, therefore, gaze at Winnecke's
comet secure in the belief that it has no
intention OF Jolting the earth out of space
during the next few centuries anyway.
Winnecke's comet Is a good specimen OF
the garden variety of comet. 1t Is inter
esting to us because it will very probably
be visible to the naked eye sometime in
June. 1t has not yet been picked up by
the astronomers at the naval observatory
here, although they say that 1t could
probably be seen through g telescope now
If they knew where to look for It, When
the comet has been located the astron-
omers will be able to calculate the date
when it will be most clearly visible. and
where It will be found in tn eheavensA
Comets are rapidly being robbed on
their romantic possibilities, but COM
paratiyely little authentic information re-
places the old mystic ideas. few CEN
| turtles ago serious minded people as well
as the credulous peasantry could get all
sorts Of thrills out Of comet The cele-
brated surgeon Ambrose Pare, looked at
the comet Of 1928 and came away with
the following impressions:
This comet was so horrible so fright
full, that some died of fear and others fell
sick. 1t appeared to be of excessive
length and was the color of blood. At
the summit OF it was seen the figure of q
bent arm, holding in its hand a great
sword, as If about to strike On both
sides of the rays Of this comet were seen
great number of axes, knives, blood
n rd
great number Of hideous human faces
...iAh h-istIIr,.. b.