The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1933-04-15
.Dietz on Science
-UIeH OF SCIehCe-
COMETS PATH
IS FOLLOWED
IN SPACE SHIP
Thrilling Race Occurs as
Explorers Speed on
Route to Planet.
BY DAVID DIETZ
seripps Howard Science Editor

seripps Howard Science Editor
The cry of the lookout in the nose
Of the rocket ship rings out through
the control room-"Comet to star
board"
Our lookout, who is trained as
tronomer, has spotted a tiny point
of light, and assumes that he has
sighted q comet.
At once, our chief navigator and
the chief of our scientific staff
hurry to the chartroom. They pour
over their star maps and charts
make various calculations, and re-
turn to announce that we have
sighted the famous comet known as
Encke's comet.
Some of our passengers leave
their bridge game in the smok-
ing salon and hurry to the windows
to get sight Of the comet, and are
disappointed to see that the comet
looks like nothing more than a
slightly hazy, or fuzzy star. That is
how a comet appears to the astTon-
omers when it first sweeps into view
in their telescopes 1t is only as it
draws nearer that its magnif1cence
becomes apparent.
Tail Is Gigantic
Soon, the comet is far more i'm
pressive sight. Brightest of all is
the comets head, while the tail
trails away family behind it. The
head, we observe, is composed of
two portions, a central bright area,
known to astronomers as the
nucleus, surrounded by q hazy en-
velope known as the coma.
BY now, the rocket ship had ap-
preached much more closely to the
comet, and we began to appreciate
its true magnitude. The comet now
fills more than a third of the sky
upon our right. BY training our
range finders upon it, we are able
to measure It's size.
The coma, we discover, is 1000
miles in diameter. The tail, stretch
ing behind the coma, is about 1,000,-
900 miles long. Within the coma
we notice the brighter portion or
nucleus. It is very small not much
more than 500 miles in diameter.
Approach Comets Head
We have caught up now with the
tip of the tail, and the comet
stretches out for a million miles
ahead of us. We note nov that the
tail is not steady. The Streamers
composing it flicker and change
shape. In some way, it reminds us
of the Aurora Borealis through
which we passed just before we left
the earth's atmposhere.
Clearly the tail is rendered lum-
nous by some sort of electric action.
perhaps an identification OF the
atoms of gas by the action of SUM-
light.
AS we approach the head of the
comet, we find even a greater COM
motion than in the tail. New
StreamerS continuously dart out of
the coma into the tail
Meteor Perils Ship
We see now that the tail is a
stream of material driven out of the
coma and diSsipated into space. We
see also that the rocks and particles
composing the nucleus are in reality
great group of meteors. They are
In constant motion within the
nucleus
Suddenly there is a flash in the
nucleus and stream of meteors is
thrown from it. One hurtles across
the bow of our rocket ship. peri
lousy near the nose of the ship. We
take the warning and increase the
distance between us and the comet.
Most comets disintegrate in that
fashion," our chief navigator con-
tinueS.
Grows Gradually Fainter
The meteoric showers such as
the Leonids are caused by streams
OF meteors which represent the de-
brlS OF dSintegrated comets.
Each time Enckes comet is seen
it is little fainter than before. The
comet is slowly going to pieces.
Other comets have been known to
split in two.
You all have heard of the great
havoc wrought in northern Siberia
when a great group of meteors
crashed into the ground, making
more than 200 depreSsions and
charrlng and soaring the trees for a
radius OF more than thirty miles in
all directions.
Most astronomers today believe il
was piece of the Pons- Winnecke
comet which struck the earth"
Our ship has outdistanced the
comet and we see it now disappear
ing behind us.
Next: We arrive at Uranus, the
sea"green world.