Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-04-19
NEWSPAPER ERRORS
Two Standard Allbis Always Avail
able--More About comets--Pe.
euliarItles About These Mys-
terious Visitors From Far
Spaces Of the Universe
by GEORGE NON MCCAIN
THERE are two standard alibls for {

| il was u typographical error.
Usually in the first cnsc the individual
| quoted is a liar. He got cold feet when he
saw his words in print and then blamed
them on the reporter. In the second in
stance, Typographical error may mean
anything from an unintcntional reportorial
blunder to n proofrcader's error. or the
ping Of Il handful of type.
This is preliminary to a statement Of mis-
quotation that comes under neither one Of
the above headings. telephone error
caused news editor to quote wrong figures
| in an i'll explained correction.
On Saturday in this column DIR. Samuel
Goodwin Barton, professor Of astronomy in
| the University of Pennsylvania, was quoted I
as saying that WinncCkc's comet might come
as near as 40, 600 miles to the earth.
The comet has already been sighted and
will be in the vicinity of this sphere Of ours
some time in June.
DR. Barton did not mention 100, 900 miles
or anything like it. What he did say was
that the nearest, it was estimated, that
comet had ever come to us was / 400 900
miles Even that was problematical.
The 100000 miles credited to DIR. Bar
ton were originally not miles at all but
dollars and had to do with an entirely diff
fCrCnt article. The writer at one end and a
news editor at the other end of telephone
wire misunderstood each other, and the
miles were turned into dollars and the dol.
lars into miles.
This explanation is made in the hope of
amCiOratng some of the contempt in which
pure science unjustly holds newspaper
science.
II wasn't newspaper astronomy. 1t was
merely an eXcusable blunder.
TT FURNISHES however, a text for a
i few additional remarks on the subject Of
comets.
If comets were intended, in the occult
scheme of nature, rs portents of war, pcsti-
lcnCe. or the death of princes or presidents
frequently n
or great events have been pulled off in ad-
vance of the dates set for them by the gods
of war and horror.
Particularly, it is claimed, they fore
shadow great international wars. Another
error.
The war Of 1870 between France and
Germany was one of the bitterest conflicts
ever wugCd but no comet hrralded 1t.
The war of 1866 between Prussia and
Austria came without any warning from
the skies.
The great struggle between Russia ami
Turkey. which ended in the liberation of
Bulgaria. had no comet to inscribe its fiery
handwriting upon the walls of night.
It is true that comet did appear in
1914, the first that amounted to anything
in size and appearance since lS62, but the
Russo Turkish war didn't follow for three
years,
That interval knocks the props from
under that particular superstition.
| IL unfortunate 1Or astronomers Wneu
i by accident or design they we're misrep
resented in the centuries past that there |
was no one 10 Sttle the lie or reverse Su- |
prIStitiOn story.
The greatest cometary scare that Europe
ever knew, perhaps. occurred In l7I3. |
France was the country chiefly affected.
II was due entirely to II rumor that |
Lalundc, the celebrated French astronomer |
and mathematician, had predicted that a
comet would strike the earth in that year. |
Lnlundc predicted no such thing.
The rumOr was based tn" announce |
ncnt that he would read paper before the
Academy Of Science on "RclectiOns on |
Certain Comets Which Can Approach the
Earth"
Voltniro got lot Of fun out Of the cpi-
Sodr. lie wrOt" a letter about the comet
which was 50 full of delicate irony and
keen satire that he succeeded in laughing
the comet scare out of existence
A FEW interesting facts about comets are
~ Some have tails and some are without
them at least they nrc SO small as to be
practically unnotiCcRblc.
Th" tails of certain comets shrink or
lcngth"n in size with incredible rapdty.
The rat" of motion In comets varies in the
most wonderful way. Enrkc's comet, which
appeared in 1868, had slowed down to one
hu!l its speed since 1t was first discovered
in 1878.
Some of these celestial bodies reach the
inruu'rivable speed Of 400 miles second.
The Rordamc comet of 1893, the night
Of July - in that year had an appendagc
or tail that stretched out for millions of
miles like single streak Of fog.
On the following night the tail had split
in two, on" Of the most remarkable fea-
lures ever noticed in such brief period in
celestial bodies Of this class.
TNIIE nucleus, or head of comet, has Il
l. diameter varying from Il grand mass Of
six or eight thousand miles to minute
point not exceeding hundred miles.
Th" toll, as regards magnitude, is by far
its most imposing feature.
Its length is seldom less than 10000, 900
to 1000, 900 miles.
1t frequently reaches 50,OOO,0O0 miles,
In several cases it exceeded 1000, 900
miles, or the distance Of the sun from the
earth
There is not much danger 10 apprrhcnd
from collision Of the earth with comet.
In l77O Il comet known AS Lcxells got
tangled up among the satellites Of Jupiter.
As far as could be nSrcrtnincd by telescope
aid it did them no harm, though its own
motion was changed.
Onc of the reasons for regarding comets
as gaseous envelopes surrounding II much
smaller dense residual mass Is that stars
seen through the head of n comet 100, 900
miles in diameter do not lose their lustcr
to any apprrciublc extent.
NTIlAT are Cometsf
w Astronomers today have divided Opin-
ions upon III" subject.
The Lutte Richard y. Proctor contcnded
that comets w"r" MASSES of matter thrown
of from hrav"ny bodies by cruptions Of
some sort.
Professor Nrwron held that comets origi-
mated in outer space and not within the
solar system.
Comets which ar" now members of our
system have been captured by the attractive
forces of the planets.
GONE very queer things have appeared in
- connection with these visitors from the
fields Of llimitablc space.
ChcseuuX's comet of lTI4 had six tails
an anomaly which nevertheless must obey
some law.
Winucckc's comet, the which Is now
swinging through space in our direction, in
1877 threw out tail lateral equal in