,,the ,,romance ,,of ,,comets ,illustration3 ,,professor ,e4 ,e4 ,,barnard ,the ,romance of ,comets ,by ,,mary ,,proctor1 ,f4,r4,a4,s41 ,f4,r4,met4,s4 7,daughter of the late ,richard ,a4 ,proctor7 ,author of 8,evenings with the ,stars10 8,stories of ,starland10 8,giant ,sun and ,his ,family10 8,legends of the ,stars10 8,the ,children's ,book of the ,heavens10 ,etc4 ,,illustrated ,illustration3 ,logo ,,harper ,,brothers ,,publishers ,,new ,,york ,,and ,,london ,,mcmxxvi ,,the ,,romance ,,of ,,comets3 ,,made ,,in ,,the ,,united ,,states ,,of ,,america ,,copyright1 #aibf1 ,,by ,,harper ,,and ,,brothers ,,publishers ,,new ,,york ,,and ,,london ,e-,a ,dedicated ,,to ,,the ,,memory ,,of my kind and helpful friend ,,professor ,e4 ,e4 ,,barnard ,contents ,,preface xi ,chapter ,one3 ,,comets ,,as ,,portents #a ,chapter ,two3 ,,comet-,,hunting ,,as ,a ,,hobby #af ,chapter ,three3 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,donati',s ,,comet #cg ,chapter ,four3 ,,comets ,,in ,,distress #df ,chapter ,five3 ,,photography ,,as ,,applied ,,to ,,comets #fg ,chapter ,six3 ,,return ,,of ,,halley',s ,,comet ,,in #aiaj #id ,chapter ,seven3 ,,origin ,,of ,,comets ,,and ,,meteors #acc ,chapter ,eight3 ,,meteor ,,streams #afh ,chapter ,nine3 ,,did ,,life ,,first ,,come ,,to ,,this ,,earth ,,in ,a ,,meteor8 #aif ,illustrations ,,professor ,e4 ,e4 ,,barnard ,frontispiece facing page ,,daylight ,,comet #aiaj ,a #h ,,the ,,comet-,,seeker ,,on ,,the ,,roof ,,of ,,the ,,yerkes ,,observatory1 ,,at ,,williams ,,bay1 ,,wisconsin #ah ,,comet ,,of ,,donati #db ,,photograph ,,of ,,morehouse ,,comet1 #aijh ,c #fh ,,john ,,tebbutt1 ,,noted ,,comet-,,hunter ,,of ,,windsor1 ,n4 ,s4 ,w4 #gj ,,the ,,great ,,daylight ,,comet1 ,,september1 #ahhb #hj ,,photograph ,,of ,a ,,bright ,,meteor1 ,,by ,,dr4 ,w4 ,j4 ,s4 ,,lockyer #hd ,,comet #ahic ,,iv ,,brooks #ib ,,halley',s ,,comet ,,and ,,the ,,planet ,,venus #id ,,halley',s ,,comet #aaj ,,comet #ahfa1 ,,july #b1 ,,as ,,seen ,,and ,,drawn ,,by ,r4 ,a4 ,,proctor #aah ,,halley',s ,,comet #abd ,,the ,,orbit ,,of ,,halley',s ,,comet #abf ,,the ,,southern ,,comet ,,of ,,january1 #ahhg #add ,,outh ,,lodge1 ,,keithick1 ,,where ,,the ,,strathmore ,,meteorite ,,fell ,,through ,,the ,,roof1 ,,december #c1 #aiag #bjj ,,strathmore ,,meteorite1 ,,essendy ,,fragment #bjb ,preface ,this book contains an account of some of the quaint ideas entertained regarding comets1 meteors1 and shooting stars in the days of long ago1 when they were looked upon with apprehension and fear4 ,their appearance was supposed to herald coming disaster1 until ,science lifted the veil which obscured their real meaning from view4 ,as soon as it was known that these visitants from the star-depths were composed of such airy texture that1 as ,sir ,john ,herschel once expressed it1 they could be easily packed in a portmanteau1 tail and all1 the fear of comets was at an end1 and their appearance is nowadays hailed with delight4 ,possibly no one appreciated this fact more strongly than the late ,professor ,barnard of the ,yerkes ,observatory1 at ,williams ,bay1 ,wisconsin2 and as ,professor ,frost1 the director of the observatory1 remarks1 in a letter granting the author a permit for the use of several photographs of comets taken by him1 8it is most appropriate that your book should be dedicated to him1 as he certainly had an ardor in observing and studying comets that has seldom been equaled40 ,in the chapter on 8,comet-hunting as a ,hobby10 after describing how popular it was some years ago1 when cash prizes were offered to successful finders1 an instance is given thereof in the story related by the late ,professor ,e4 ,e4 ,barnard1 entitled 8,the ,house that was ,built with ,comets40 ,as a matter of fact1 it was built by means of financial aid obtained in this way4 ,shooting stars also come in for their due share of attention1 as well as fireballs which present rather an alarming aspect until one realizes that the sudden blaze of light indicates their annihilation4 ,the book is illustrated with prints1 charts1 drawings1 and photographs1 and permits for their use are gratefully acknowledged to the ,astronomer ,royal1 in connection with photographs obtained at the ,royal ,observatory1 ,greenwich2 and to the directors of the ,cape of ,good ,hope and ,johannesburg ,observatories in ,africa1 and the ,yerkes ,observatory in ,u4 ,s4 ,a4 ,also for permission kindly given by the director of ,harvard ,college ,observatory1 ,u4 ,s4 ,a41 to make a copy from a drawing of ,donati's comet1 made by ,professor ,bond in the year #aheh4 ,grateful acknowledgment is made to ,mr4 ,w4 ,f4 ,denning 7,bristol7 for the loan of the photograph of the ,strathmore meteorite1 which fell ,december #c1 #aiag1 making a hole in the roof of ,outh ,lodge1 ,keithwick4 ,the author is specially indebted to ,mr4 ,denning for his kindness in looking over the ,,ms4 of ,chapter ,,viii1 which deals with 8,meteor ,streams and ,shooting ,stars02 and to ,dr4 ,a4 ,c4 ,d4 ,crommelin for a like favor in connection with the chapters dealing with 8,halley's ,comet as ,seen in #aiaj10 and the 8,origin of ,comets and ,meteors10 the most important chapter in the book4 ,it incorporates the views advanced by my father some thirty-five years ago1 concerning the ejection theory of comets1 stanchly advocated by ,dr4 ,crommelin1 as compared with the more modern capture theory4 ,the chapter is also of special interest1 as1 in a way1 it partly supplies the missing chapter in my father's unfinished work1 ,old and ,new ,astronomy4 ,,mary ,,proctor4 ,,london1 ,april1 #aibf4 ,,chapter ,,one ,,comets ,,as ,,portents 8,lo6 from the dread immensity of ,space1 ,returning with accelerated pace1 ,the rushing comet to the sun descends3 ,and1 as he shrinks below the shading ,earth1 ,with awful train projected o'er the ,heavens1 ,the guilty nations tremble40 --,,thomson4 ,can there be anything more awe-inspiring to the superstitious than the stealthy approach of a comet as it wends its way among the stars1 finally blazing out with a marvelous train as it draws near to the sun to pay homage8 ,as a distant relative of that luminary1 it comes for an occasional visit from far-off realms1 and after a brief display during which it adorns itself with a splendor befitting the momentous occasion1 it withdraws into the obscurity from which it emerged4 ,in these enlightened days a comet is greeted with enthusiasm1 and the camera keeps a faithful record of its varying appearance1 but in olden times it was regarded as a portent of evil4 ,comets have sometimes been pictured as dragons1 and according to ,pliny the shape of a comet indicated its character as a portent4 ,thus1 some were shown as arrow heads1 sea monsters1 swords1 lances1 and flames4 ,in ,a4,d4 #fi1 according to ,josephus1 several signs appeared in the sky announcing the destruction of ,jerusalem4 8,amongst other warnings1 a comet1 one of the kind called ,xiphias1 because their tails appear to represent the blade of a sword1 was seen above the city for the space of a whole year40 ,regarding the comet of ,a4,d4 #gi1 it is said to have preceded the death of the ,roman ,emperor ,vespasian4 ,when the physicians reproved the emperor for continuing to live as usual1 attending to the business of the state1 although attacked by a serious malady1 he replied1 8,it is fitting that an emperor should die standing40 ,then perceiving some courtiers who were conversing together in a low tone of voice about the comet1 gazing significantly in his direction meanwhile1 he remarked3 8,this hairy star does not concern me2 it menaces rather the ,king of the ,parthians1 for he is hairy and ,i am bald40 ,feeling his end approach1 he observed1 8,i think that ,i am becoming a god40 ,virgil compares a hero in his shining armor to a comet1 and makes another allusion to these objects at the end of the first ,georgic 7,bk4 ,i1 #dhg-dhh7 in the couplet thus rendered by the ,rev4 ,canon ,newbolt3 8,at no other time did more thunderbolts fall in a clear sky1 nor so often did dread comets blaze40 ,in the natural history of ,pliny we find several passages relating to the significance attached to comets by the ancients4 ,for instance1 when referring to the comet of #dh ,b4,c41 he observes3 8,we have in the war between ,csar and ,pompey an example of the terrible effects which follow the apparition of a comet4444 ,that fearful star1 which overthrows the powers of the earth1 showed its terrible locks40 ,the superstitious dread in which comets were held in the ,middle ,ages is exemplified in the gloomy forebodings of disaster1 such as wars1 pestilence1 and the death of kings1 when these apparitions were seen in the heavens4 ,well known is ,shakespeare's allusion to comets in ,act ,,ii1 ,sc4 #b of 8,julius ,csar03 8,when beggars die1 there are no comets seen2 ,the heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes40 ,in 8,henry ,,vi0 we find the following passage in ,part ,i1 ,act ,i1 ,sc4 #a3 8,comets1 importing change of times and states ,brandish your crystal tresses in the sky2 ,and with them scourge the bad revolting stars ,that have consented unto ,henry's death40 ,the comet of ,a4,d4 #dea or ,a4,d4 #dec announced the death of ,attila1 and the comet of ,a4,d4 #dee that of the ,emperor ,valentinian4 ,so widely spread was the belief in the connection between the death of the great1 and these menacing signs in the heavens1 that the chroniclers of old appear to have recorded comets which were never seen1 such as the comet of ,a4,d4 #had1 which was supposed to have presaged the death of ,charlemagne4 ,when the end of the world was expected in ,a4,d4 #ajjj1 the most simple phenomena assumed terrible proportions4 ,we are told of earthquakes1 and a comet visible for nine days4 8,the heavens having opened1 a kind of burning torch fell upon the earth1 leaving behind it a long train of light similar to a flash of lightning4 ,such was its light that it frightened not only those who were in the open country1 but those who were within doors4 ,as this opening in the heavens closed imperceptibly there became visible the figure of a dragon1 whose feet were blue1 and whose head seemed continually to increase40 ,however1 this was more likely the momentary appearance of a shooting star or fireball1 than the comet which the chronicler records as remaining visible for nine days4 ,a terrible picture accompanies the description1 showing a meteor track so arranged as to resemble the outline of a dragon1 and lest the resemblance might not seem convincing enough1 a fearsome looking dragon to match is set beside the celestial apparition labeled 8,serpens cum ceruleis pedibus40 ,fortunately1 people were too busy in those 8good old times0 fighting and plundering one another to pay much heed to these omens in the sky4 ,moreover1 with regard to the threatened end of the world1 many contented themselves with the reflection that they could not be much worse off1 even if the world should perish at that period4 ,consequently1 a comet scare was averted1 and we have clear evidence that1 as far as the predicted catastrophe was concerned1 everything went on as usual4 ,a4,d4 #ajjj came and went1 and still the world endured4 ,great importance has been attached to the seeming connection between ,halley's famous comet and the portent theory1 with striking events which have occurred upon the occasion of its several returns4 ,for instance1 at its return in ,a4,d4 #ff it was probably the sword of fire described by ,josephus as suspended over ,jerusalem not long before the destruction of that city by ,titus4 ,its appearance in ,a4,d4 #dea coincided with the defeat of ,attila at ,chlons1 and it was pictured in the ,nuremberg ,chronicle for ,a4,d4 #fhd4 ,it is well known in connection with the famous ,bayeux tapestry into which ,queen ,matilda wove the story of ,william the ,conqueror's defeat of ,harold on the memorable occasion of the battle of ,hastings1 ,a4,d4 #ajff4 ,people are shown pointing to an object in the sky1 which is labeled ,isti ,mirant ,stellam1 the wonderful so-called 8hairy star0 which supposedly heralded the success of the ,conqueror4 ,on an adjoining panel is pictured the dejected ,harold about to topple off his throne1 and a solitary attendant expressing alarm at the defeated monarch's precarious position1 but apparently offering no assistance of value4 ,thus the comet on this occasion served the double purpose1 it would seem1 of announcing success on the one hand and defeat on the other4 ,undoubtedly it caused great alarm on account of its brightness and rapid motion4 ,in #adef it returned at a period of great anxiety1 when the ,turks1 having taken possession of ,constantinople three years before1 now turned their attention to ,belgrade1 which they were besieging4 ,it happened that the moon was passing through the crescent phase at the time1 and ,halley's comet presented the appearance of a sword4 ,the crescent moon1 resembling the ,turkish emblem1 is said to have been considered an evil omen by the ,turks1 contributing eventually to their defeat4 ,coming to our own times1 it is surprising the amount of fear and distress which was caused at the return of ,halley's comet in #aiaj4 ,insanity and even cases of suicide followed at its approach1 and there is a well-authenticated case of an enthusiastic young lady in ,new ,jersey1 ,u4 ,s4 ,a41 who declared her intention of following the comet wheresoever it went1 but was restrained by her friends1 and temporary seclusion in an asylum1 from this perilous pursuit4 ,as the time drew near for the comet to pass from the morning to the evening sky1 when1 according to calculations1 it would cross the plane of the earth's orbit at a point exactly between the earth and the sun1 fresh alarm was caused lest the earth1 in plunging through the dbris of the comet's train1 might come to grief in consequence4 ,a report that we should be asphyxiated by the poisonous gases1 such as cyanogen1 of which the train was said to be partly composed1 did not tend to lessen the alarm4 ,cautious folk laid in a supply of bottles of oxygen to sustain life during the fatal night1 and one or two of a pessimistic turn of mind actually forestalled the expected tragedy by committing suicide4 ,yet nothing happened1 for the simple reason that on the night of the great adventure the comet obligingly spread its tail so widely apart1 that we passed unharmed between two sections thereof4 ,illustration3 ,drawn by ,m4 ,proctor ,,daylight ,,comet #aiaj ,a ,as seen at ,newcastletown ,moor1 ,january #bh1 by the author ,nevertheless1 despite a few tragedies consequent upon fear at the comet's near approach1 the lurking dread of evil it might have had in store for us was considerably less on the occasion of the return of ,halley's comet in #aiaj1 than was usual in the gloomy1 prognosticating period of the ,middle ,ages4 ,yet certain events occurred which made some people wonder if there was not a kernel of truth in the so-called portents after all4 ,for instance1 during the month of ,january 7in the eventful year #aiaj7 the so-called ,daylight comet--a totally unexpected visitor to the sun's domain--blazed out in the evening sky and the people of ,paris saw its reflection in the flood which threatened to destroy their city4 ,in ,may1 while ,londoners were watching for ,halley's comet1 which proved to be a very disappointing spectacle in this part of the world1 the body of ,king ,edward the ,seventh lay in state at ,westminster4 8,what wonder10 as ,mr4 ,arthur ,r4 ,hinks observes in his book entitled ,astronomy1 8that the imagination seizes upon these deplorable coincidences and the fear of comets dies hard among us80 ,tennyson thus refers to ,halley's comet in his poem 8,harold03 8,lo6 there once more--this is the seventh night ,you grimly-glaring1 treble-brandished scourge of ,england4 ,look you1 there's a star4 ,it glares in heaven1 it flares upon the ,thames1 ,the people are as thick as bees below1 ,they hum like bees--they cannot speak--for awe1 ,lord ,leodwin1 dost thou believe that these ,three rods of blood-red fire up yonder mean ,the doom of ,england and the wrath of ,heaven80 ,milton in 8,paradise ,lost0 compares ,satan to a comet3 8,that fires the length of ,ophiuchus huge ,in the ,arctic sky1 and from his horrid hair ,shakes pestilence and war40 ,it has been suggested that the poet was doubtless referring to the comet of #afah1 which was held responsible for the great ,thirty ,years' ,war4 ,milton was only ten years old at the time1 but the impression made on his mind by this magnificent comet with a train #ajd long 7or over twenty times the distance separating the pointers in the constellation of the ,great ,bear71 8may well have lasted until he wrote the above lines as a man of fifty40#a ,elsewhere1 in 8,paradise ,lost10 ,milton refers to a comet as the brandish'd sword of ,god3 8444 before them blaz'd ,fierce as a ,comet3 which1 with torrid heat1 ,and vapours as the ,lybian air adust1 ,began to parch that ,temperate clime40 ,according to the translation by ,longfellow1 ,dante in his 8,paradiso10 ,canto ,,xxiv1 refers to comets as 8souls beatified40 8,thus ,beatrice3 and those souls beatified ,transformed themselves to spheres on steadfast poles ,flaming intensely in the guise of ,comets40 ,turning to the ,avesta writings1 we find that the ,parsees of ancient ,persia classified comets as parihs1 or fairies4 ,pari is the ,iranian word for fairy1 and is derived from the word 8par10 meaning to tempt1 to enchant4 ,the ,english word 8fairy0 also comes from a similar root1 8fier10 to enchant4 ,nevertheless1 these cometary fairies are not the dainty beings of ,english folk-lore1 but are described in the ,avesta as 8ill-born fairies10 their appearance in the sky inspiring terror1 since they are supposed to bring disease1 calamity1 and death in their wake4 ,in the picturesque language of the ,persian writer1 8the distress of the earth becomes as that of a sheep when a wolf falls upon it40 ,the following quaint account of the influence of a comet is given in the ,avesta4 8,a hairy comet appeared in the year #ffb1 ,hijri1 and the increase of the splendour of the world was in ,leo4 ,the strange thing was that it appeared to be of the proportion of the head of a big man and emitted steam from the front4 ,it passed over the countries of ,tibet1 ,turkestan1 ,china1 ,kashgar and remained visible for #he days4 ,in all these countries there arose rebellions4 ,in ,khorassan calamities of thunder and lightning and other such phenomena appeared4 8,many years and many months had passed over this event1 and then in #hjc1 a tailed comet appeared in the zenith of ,constantinople4 ,astrologers informed ,timur that from what the wise and the experienced have said1 it appears that an army coming from the direction of the east will be victorious in that country1 and a general from that country will assist him4 ,timur 7literally3 the illuminator of the face of fortune71 who was always expecting an invasion of the country1 but whose companions of poor intelligence did not acquiesce1 attended to that prediction and convinced the great and small of his court1 of the truth and insight of the star-seers4 ,the learned in the mysteries of the heavens are convinced of this1 that if the comet appears within the boundaries of a country1 its king dies4 ,if it is inclined towards the boundary1 the country of the governor passes away from his hands1 and plague and disease add to the afflictions of the country40#b ,some of the ,pahlavi books refer to a comet as 8the thievish ,mushpar provided with tails40 ,the comet was classified as an evil spirit in company with planets and meteors which wandered hither and thither2 while the sun1 moon1 and fixed stars were considered good spirits1 because they were always to be found at appointed times in their places in the sky4 ,in the mythology of ,china and ,japan we find that comets were supposed to be celestial representatives of every country on the earth1 and occupied the important position of ambassadors journeying from one celestial region to another1 and giving forecasts of terrestrial events of importance4 ,for this reason1 careful records were kept of the dates of their appearance and the paths along which they traveled1 thus enabling astronomers of to-day to trace back the path of ,halley's comet1 for instance1 to a very remote era4 ,whatever the motive that prompted the accumulation of records1 they have proved of the utmost value4 ,comets are called 8broom stars0 in ,china1 a name derived from the form of their tails1 which have the very prosaic name of brooms 7sui or soui74 ,a comet without a tail was referred to as merely a star1 or a guest star1 from its visiting the provinces and taking up its abode in different places1 as at an inn4 8,their home was in the vestibule of the celestial palaces2 there1 under an invisible form1 they awaited the order of departure10 says ,pingr1 8the order sent1 they became visible and commenced their journey4 ,if1 whilst on their way they put forth a tail1 the star was said to have become a comet40 ,the above quotation1 remarks the same author1 explains3 8the foolish and singular idea that the ,chinese formed of the heavens4 ,according to them1 the heavens represented a great empire1 composed of kingdoms and provinces2 these provinces were the constellations2 there was decided all that would happen for good or ill to the great terrestrial empire1 that is1 to ,china4 ,the planets were the administrators or superintendents of the celestial republic1 the stars were their ministers1 and the comets their couriers or messengers4 ,the planets sent their messengers from time to time to visit the provinces for the purpose of restoring or maintaining order1 but all that was done in the heavens above was either the cause or the forerunner of what was to happen below40 ,the ideas of the ,chinese were not more foolish than the extravagant myths of the ancients1 and of the ,europeans in the ,middle ,ages4 ,nevertheless1 although comets are no longer regarded with superstitious awe1 mystery still clings to them4 ,for those who are unaware of the fact that astronomers can trace their paths1 predict the periodic returns of these wanderers1 and even analyze the substance of which they are composed1 there are many problems concerning them still awaiting solution4 ,,chapter ,,two ,,comet-,,hunting ,,as ,a ,,hobby 8,i have the greatest admiration for a man or woman who discovers a comet1 because ,i know of the hard and thorough work which the success implies40 --,w4 ,r4 ,,brooks1 the noted ,american comet-hunter4 ,to hunt for a comet in the ocean of space is as fascinating a hobby in its way as angling for a wily fish1 requiring in either case an unlimited supply of perseverance1 patience1 and spare time4 ,in place of fishing tackle one requires a telescope with an aperture of four or six inches1 though excellent work has been accomplished with smaller instruments4 ,it should be erected in a position commanding a clear view of the horizon either eastward or westward1 as comets travel in the wake of the rising or setting sun4 ,during the daytime a glance at a map showing the region of the sky to be examined in the evening will save an endless waste of time1 to say nothing of the disappointment when the suspected object proves to be a nebula and not a comet4 ,on the other hand1 fuzzy-looking objects resembling comets have been mistaken for nebul when in reality they were comets4 ,for instance1 in looking over ,sir ,william ,herschel's list of #a1jjj nebul and clusters1 presented by him to the ,royal ,society in #aghf1 suspicion is aroused by the following entry3 8,some of the shape of a fan1 resembling an electric brush1 issuing from a lucid point1 others of the cometic shape1 with a seeming nucleus in the center1 or like cloudy stars surrounded with a nebulous atmosphere40 7,philosophical ,transactions1 ,vol4 ,,lxxiv1 p4 #ddb47 ,as we shall see later on1 the descriptions tally with the appearance of comets which have been photographed4 ,nebul and clusters likely to be on the list of 8suspects0 have been charted in my father's ,new ,star ,atlas1 edition #aiae1 containing maps of all the stars down to the sixth magnitude 7that is1 all stars which can be seen with the naked eye71 as well as the positions of nebul1 clusters1 and fainter stars which become visible with the aid of a small telescope4 ,it is a compact1 handy volume1 serving as an excellent guide for the amateur comet-hunter in his rambles through starland in search of cometary prey4 ,provided with a copy of this book1 and allowed the privilege of using the ,brashear 7name of the maker71 ,comet-,seeker1 which is stationed on the main roof of the ,yerkes ,observatory at ,williams ,bay1 ,wisconsin1 ,u4 ,s4 ,a41 the writer spent many a delightful evening during the summer of #aiaj1 scanning the evening sky for celestial wanderers4 ,unable to resist the temptation to linger by the way in admiration of double stars1 clusters1 and nebul strewn along the highways and byways of starland1 comets missed recognition4#c ,nevertheless1 the evenings spent with the little comet-seeker were a source of unqualified delight1 though no comet hove in sight4 ,the telescope of six inches aperture1 easily handled1 is inclosed in a sort of cabin which rolls on wheels4 ,this can be pushed backward a certain distance1 leaving the instrument out in the open air4 ,fortunately1 the width of the cabin was such that it was just possible for the writer to catch hold of the rods on each side1 drawing them backward the distance required2 while shutting it was an easier matter1 requiring as a rule a gentle push1 sending the cabin back on the rollers provided for this purpose4 ,before doing so1 however1 the telescope was leveled and carefully wrapped up to keep it free from any moisture or dampness which might penetrate from the outside1 and anyone who has passed a winter in ,wisconsin knows something of the deep snowdrifts which must settle several feet deep in such an exposed site as the main roof of the ,yerkes ,observatory building4 ,after the cabin has been closed1 it is hooked at the sides and remains so until the services of the telescope within are once more required4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,comet-,,seeker ,,on ,,the ,,roof ,,of ,,the ,,yerkes ,,observatory1 ,,at ,,williams ,,bay1 ,,wisconsin ,then the cabin is reopened and the wrappings are removed from the telescope1 which is turned in the direction of a specially selected star4 ,this is kept in the center of the field of view1 which is marked by the intersection of two threads made from a spider's web4 ,as there is no clockwork attachment1 the telescope is guided by means of a small screw like a miniature wheel or helm1 enabling the observer to pilot his or her way through the ocean of space4 ,then a keen search is made in the surrounding region1 and if nothing in the way of a comet 8stands revealed0 to the searching eye of the telescope1 another region is explored1 so that a more or less extended expanse of sky comes under observation during the course of the evening4 ,on one eventful occasion a supposed comet was glimpsed and its position duly charted with regard to neighboring stars4 ,however1 on reference to the star map the fuzzy-looking object proved to be a nebula4 ,supposing by any possibility the suspected object had been a comet1 this could have been proved beyond doubt by watching it for two or three evenings in succession4 ,the presence of a comet can be detected as it slowly drifts against a background composed of the stars1 while the nebula is at a distance so remote that an observer would have to watch for centuries before he detected any perceptible motion4 ,nevertheless1 there is a close resemblance between the hazy-looking objects known as nebul and comets when they emerge from obscurity4 ,for this reason1 they gave a great deal of trouble to ,messier1 a ,french astronomer of the eighteenth century4 ,so keen was he on capturing comets that ,louis ,,xv nicknamed him 8the ,ferret of ,comets40 ,consequently1 we can imagine his annoyance1 after discovering a supposed comet1 at finding it was merely a cloudy-looking object which he termed a nebula4 ,he kept a careful record of these 8embarrassing objects10 so that he might not be led astray by them again1 and labeled them ,messier #a1 ,messier #b1 and ,messier #c1 in the order of discovery1 and these are usually briefly recorded on star maps as ,m#a1 ,m#b1 ,m#c1 etc4 ,in this way1 ,messier made a list of forty-five nebul1 which he entered in a catalogue published at ,paris in #agga4 ,a century later 7#ahga7 the list had been enlarged by one hundred and three discoveries4 ,for the listing of these 8embarrassing objects10 as ,messier termed them1 we are greatly indebted1 since in recent years photography has revealed the fact that they are among the most marvelous objects in the heavens4 ,with the assistance of a small two-foot telescope of two and a half inches aperture1 magnifying five times1 and with a field of view covering four or five degrees1 ,messier discovered thirteen comets4 ,his first comet dates from #agfj1 and another ,french astronomer named ,pons1 who discovered a comet in #ahjb1 joined him in the pioneer work of making a systematic search for comets4 ,it is interesting to note that ,pons was a doorkeeper at the ,observatory at ,marseilles1 and1 owing to the teaching and encouragement he received from ,thulis1 the director1 he achieved phenomenal success as a comet-hunter4 ,a third name must be added to the list of these enterprising searchers after cometary prey1 viz41 that of ,montaigne1 between whom and ,messier existed a keen rivalry4 ,the following story shows the importance attached by the latter to each comet captured4 ,it seems that on one occasion ,messier1 who had discovered twelve comets1 was looking for his thirteenth1 when his wife was taken seriously ill and died4 ,while attending to her he was hindered in his search for the comet which was found by his rival1 ,montaigne4 ,when some one sympathized with him about the loss he had sustained he said1 8,alas6 ,montaigne has robbed me of my thirteenth comet60 ,then realizing that he should be mourning the loss of his wife1 he added the remark1 8,ah6 poor woman60 but he continued grieving for his lost comet4 ,apparently ,messier's path was beset with difficulties1 for in his book entitled ,planetary ,worlds ,breen tells us that on one occasion while ,messier was walking in ,president ,saron's garden he was doubtless looking up at the sky on the chance of detecting a comet1 when he fell into an icehouse1 and was temporarily disabled4 ,later on1 we are told in the same book1 the revolution deprived ,messier of his little income and every evening he was wont to repair to the house of the noted astronomer ,lalande to replenish the supply of oil for his midnight lamp4 ,the political storm made it necessary for him to remove to another neighborhood1 8where he no longer heard the clocks of forty-two churches sounding the hours during the night watchings40 ,possibly his most trying experience occurred in connection with the expected return of ,halley's comet in #ageh4 ,it was first observed by a farmer named ,palitzsch1 living at ,prohlis1 near ,dresden1 who saw it on ,christmas ,day1 #ageh1 with a telescope of eight-foot focus4 ,he was an amateur astronomer possessed of keen sight1 and was in the habit of searching the heavens with the naked eye1 which seems to have given rise to the statement that he found ,halley's comet with the naked eye at a time when the professional astronomers were searching for it in vain with their telescopes4 ,meanwhile1 ,messier had been carrying on a prolonged watch of the heavens1 extending over the whole of the year #ageh1 but he did not actually get a view of ,halley's comet until ,january #ba1 #agei1 when he observed it regularly for three weeks4 ,he was the first noted astronomer to do so1 but according to the account given by ,j4 ,russell ,hind1 in his book on ,the ,comets 7page #da73 8,delisle1 then director of the ,observatory at ,paris1 would not allow him to give notice to the astronomers of that city that the long-expected body was in sight1 and ,messier remained the only observer before the comet was lost in the sun's rays4 ,such a discreditable and selfish concealment of an interesting discovery is not likely to sully again the annals of astronomy4 ,some members of the ,french ,academy looked upon ,messier's observations1 when published1 as forgeries1 but his name stood too high for such imputations to last long1 and the positions were soon received as authentic1 and have been of great service in correcting the orbit of the comet at this 7#ahce7 return40 ,the name of ,j4 ,r4 ,hind1 by the way1 is the only ,english one included in the list of those who received a gold medal given to the discoverer of telescopic comets by ,frederick ,,vi1 ,king of ,denmark1 who instituted the distribution of this award in the year #ahce4 ,the gold medal was also won by an ,american astronomer1 ,maria ,mitchell1 who discovered a comet1 ,october #a1 #ahdg1 while engaged in making observations from the roof of the ,nantucket ,athenum4 ,when eighteen years old she was appointed librarian at the ,athenum1 which position she held for twenty years4 ,the roof of the building was her observatory4 ,in #ahfe she became professor of astronomy at ,vassar ,college1 a position she retained until her health permitted her to do so no longer4 ,the grant of the medal by ,king ,frederick ,,vi was discontinued after the death of his successor1 ,christian ,,viii1 in #ahdh4 ,the ,vienna ,academy of ,sciences formerly gave a gold medal to the discoverer of every new comet1 but this also was discontinued in #ahhj4 ,then ,mr4 ,h4 ,h4 ,warner1 a wealthy ,american1 came to the rescue and offered a prize of two hundred dollars for every unexpected comet found by an observer in ,canada or ,u4 ,s4 ,a41 which brings us to the story told in the autobiography of the late ,professor ,e4 ,e4 ,barnard1 one of the most successful competitors4 ,he had nineteen comets to his credit1 resulting in the erection of what he quaintly termed 8,the house that was built with comets40 8,times were hard in the last of the 'seventies and the first of the 'eighties1 and money was scarce4 ,it had taken all that ,i could save to buy my small telescope4 ,i had been searching for comets for upward of a year with no success1 when a prize of two hundred dollars for the discovery of each new comet was offered 7in #ahhj7 by the founder of the ,warner ,observatory through the agency of ,dr4 ,lewis ,swift1 its director4 ,soon after this it happened that ,i found a new comet and was awarded the prize4 ,then came the question1 #8,what shall we do with the money8' ,after due deliberation it was decided that we referring to ,mrs4 ,barnard would try to get a home of our own with it4 ,i had always longed for such a home where one could plant trees and watch them grow up and call them our own4 ,so we bought a lot with part of the money1 which was on what was afterwards called ,belmont ,avenue1 but which was not then even a road4 ,it was hard to find the lot after it was bought1 for it was out in the open common4 ,the place was in the midst of a scattered settlement of negro shanties1 where the negroes had #8squatted' after the war1 though on beautiful rising ground which ,i had selected in part because it gave me a clear horizon with my telescope4 8,after some saving and some borrowing1 and mainly a mortgage on the lot1 we built a little frame cottage where my mother1 my wife1 and ,i went to live4 ,those were happy days1 though the struggle for a livelihood was a hard one1 with working from early to late for a bare sustenance 7and the hope of paying off the mortgage71 and sitting up all the rest of the twenty-four hours1 hunting for comets4 8,we could only look forward with dread to the meeting of the notes that must come due4 ,however1 when the first note was due a faint comet was discovered wandering along the outskirts of creation1 and the money went to meet the payments1 and this continued after we had gone to other scenes4 ,the faithful comet1 like the goose that laid the golden egg1 conveniently timed its appearance to coincide with the advent of those dreaded notes4 ,and thus it finally came about that the house was built entirely of comets4 ,this fact goes to prove the great error of those scientific men who figure out that a comet is but a flimsy affair after all1 infinitely more rare than the breath of the morning air1 for here was a strong compact house1 albeit a small one1 built entirely out of them4 ,true1 it took several good-sized comets to do it1 but it was done1 nevertheless40 ,in connection with the prize offered by ,dr4 ,h4 ,h4 ,warner1 ,professor ,w4 ,h4 ,brooks discovered twenty comets2 ,barnard1 nineteen1 as already stated2 ,perrine1 thirteen2 and ,swift1 eleven4 ,awarding this prize was given up after a while1 but the idea was again revived by a wealthy ,american1 the late ,mr4 ,j4 ,m4 ,donohoe1 in the year #ahij1 with the result that a bronze medal is now presented to the discoverer of any new comet1 on the report of a committee of the ,astronomical ,society of the ,pacific4 ,there were two awards for the year #aibc4 ,comet ,a was discovered independently by ,sr4 ,dr4 ,arturo ,bernard1 ,colmenarejo1 ,madrid1 ,spain1 on ,october #aa1 #aibc2 and by ,alexander ,d4 ,dubiago1 of ,kasan1 ,russia1 on ,october #ad1 #aibc4 ,the medal was awarded to each of these two discoverers4 ,on ,november #aj1 #aibc1 ,mr4 ,w4 ,reid1 of ,rondebosch1 ,south ,africa1 who has been awarded several of the medals for his discoveries of comets1 added another to his list of captures4 ,regarding the ease with which comets may be discovered in the clear skies of ,america1 ,professor ,h4 ,h4 ,turner1 in his lecture on ,halley's comet1 given before the ,british ,association in #aijh at ,dublin1 referred to a meeting which took place at ,albany1 ,new ,york1 of the ,board of ,visitors4 ,a discussion arose as to the value of some desk work which the director was carrying on1 as compared with the discovery of a comet1 which it was suggested would surely add to the reputation of the observatory4 ,professor ,boss 7the director7 promptly remarked that nothing was easier1 if they would sanction the outlay of certain sums of money to be used as salary for a person of average intelligence1 while devoting himself to the search4 8,the challenge was accepted on the spot10 remarked ,professor ,turner1 8the money subscribed1 the searcher set to work1 and within the allotted time a fine comet was found4 ,professor ,boss undoubtedly took a certain risk in undertaking to catch a comet1 just as a man who would undertake to catch a fish within a definite time4 ,but he was anxious to indicate his views of the relative importance of different kinds of work1 and deserved the success he ventured to count upon40 ,one wonders if this was the occasion referred to when it is said that the comet-hunter1 after a preliminary search for a comet1 returned to the room where the ,visitors were awaiting his report1 announcing that he had discovered a comet in such and such a part of the sky4 ,it was immediately claimed by ,professor ,barnard1 who was present on this occasion1 as one that had already been discovered by him last spring1 or a year or so ago1 as the case might be4 ,after this had occurred two or three times1 it is said1 the comet-hunter remarked to ,professor ,barnard1 8,why don't you keep your comets chained80 ,however1 it may be as well to take this story cum grano salis4 ,the cloud-laden skies of ,england are not encouraging1 as far as comet-hunting is concerned4 ,it may be possible1 when the moon is absent1 to get a glimpse of a comet low down in the vapors after sunrise or sunset1 if the chances are favorable4 ,then follows a week of cloud and misty skies during which period the comet has vanished4 ,for this reason the discovery of comets in ,england is rare1 but all the more credit to those who eventually succeed in making a capture4 ,our veteran comet-hunter is ,mr4 ,w4 ,f4 ,denning1 of ,bristol1 who has specialized in the observation of comets and meteors4 ,in his book on ,telescopic ,work on ,starlight ,evenings he gives an instance of two experiences he had in the year #ahha1 showing how he missed one comet1 but succeeded in finding another1 just before sunrise1 when comet-hunting is not nearly as attractive1 one imagines1 as in the evening4 ,it seems that on ,july #aa1 #ahha1 after a night's observation of the stars1 ,mr4 ,denning1 just before daylight and preparatory to ceasing work1 looked in the direction of the constellation ,auriga1 the ,charioteer4 ,the idea occurred to him that it might be worth while to sweep the surrounding region with his comet eyepiece1 but he hesitated1 not thinking the prospect sufficiently inviting4 ,there is a well-known saying that he who hesitates is lost1 and on this occasion ,mr4 ,denning undoubtedly missed an opportunity for finding a comet4 ,three nights later a bright comet in ,auriga was discovered by ,schaeberle1 an ,american astronomer at ,ann ,arbor1 ,michigan6 ,that same year1 on ,october #d1 ,mr4 ,denning had been observing the planet ,jupiter before sunrise1 when once more he hesitated as to the advisability of making an attempt at comet-seeking1 but1 profiting by his former experience1 he made use of the comet eyepiece with good results4 ,to quote his own words-- 8at almost my first sweep ,i alighted upon a suspicious object which afterwards proved itself a comet of short period10 which means that it is a frequent visitor to the neighborhood of the sun4 ,these facts are encouraging1 and still more so when we remember that ,kepler said1 8there are as many comets in the sky as there are fishes in the sea40 ,the first woman to discover a comet was ,caroline ,herschel1 the sister of the famous astronomer1 ,sir ,w4 ,herschel1 and she had eight to her credit4 ,in her diary1 which has been most carefully preserved by ,miss ,francesca ,herschel at ,observatory ,house1 ,slough1 there is an account of her first discovery which occurred on ,august #a1 #aghf4 ,during the absence of her brother in ,germany she availed herself of the opportunity to make use of a small ,newtonian telescope he had given her1 in 8sweeping the skies40 ,her 8sweeper10 as she termed it1 was of #bg-;inch focal length1 a power of about #bj1 and a field of view #b #ab4 ,miss ,herschel had been observing nebul when she saw what she believed might prove to be a comet4 ,at one o'clock on the morning of ,august #b she made the following brief note in her diary3 8,the object last night is a comet10 and she wrote to ,dr4 ,blagden of the ,royal ,astronomical ,society1 asking him to take the comet under his protection 8in regard to its right ascension and declination10 which correspond to latitude and longitude of a place on earth4 ,the right ascension of a heavenly body is measured eastward along the celestial equator1 from the vernal equinox to the hour circle on which the object lies4 ,declination of a heavenly body is its distance north or south of the celestial equator1 measured on a great circle passing through the pole and the celestial body4 ,caroline ,herschel sent drawings she had made1 showing the position of the suspected object with regard to certain stars in the same field of view1 to ,dr4 ,blagden4 ,he was thus enabled to locate the comet and confirm her observation4 ,when this discovery of a comet was followed by seven more1 ,caroline ,herschel succeeded in making for herself a ,european reputation for what was called 8her eccentric vocation40 ,in #ahbh she received the gold medal of the ,royal ,astronomical ,society1 and in #ahce was elected an honorary member thereof4 ,the personal interest she took in her cometary captures is evidenced by a neat little packet found among her papers after her death1 containing the account of her discoveries4 ,it was labeled 8,bills and ,receipts of my ,comets40 ,this also has been carefully preserved by ,miss ,francesca ,herschel 7the granddaughter of ,sir ,william ,herschel7 who showed it to the writer during the summer of #aibb4 ,searching for comets is not part of the defined programs of observatories1 as it involves an immense amount of time with results which only present themselves at intervals4 ,however1 when an amateur succeeds in discovering a comet and has made known the fact to a professional astronomer1 the latter completes the work of computing its orbit and other elements1 which is not usually undertaken by the discoverer1 unless he has the requisite mathematical knowledge4 ,yet it is advantageous1 if he possesses a ring micrometer 7an instrument used for the measurement of small angles71 to learn how to make use of it during the first few observations1 which are usually made before the comet has been seen elsewhere4 ,these observations1 if precise1 will prove of the greatest value4 ,the news of the discovery of a comet should be sent at the first opportunity to the director of the nearest observatory1 who will communicate with the director 7,elis ,stromgren7 of the ,bureau ,centrale ,astronomique de l',union ,astronomique ,internationale1 ,observatoire de ,copenhagen1 from which center it will be sent broadcast all over the world4 ,the discoverer will then experience the delight of having a comet named after him1 which he can claim forthwith as his own individual celestial treasure trove4 ,as a matter of fact1 newly discovered comets are now usually referred to by their date and order of discovery1 as ,comet #a1 #aibd1 saving much confusion as to the name of the actual discoverer4 ,this was exemplified in the case of a comet found by ,pons in #ahai 7,,iii of that year71 which ,encke showed to be revolving in an ellipse with a periodic time of three and one-half years4 ,hence its name of ,encke's comet4 ,it was again renamed after ,winnecke1 who rediscovered it in #aheh1 but actually he had no more claim to the title than ,caroline ,herschel1 who discovered it in #agie--;her seventh comet--or ,mchain by whom it had been previously seen in ,january1 #aghf4 ,the majority of comets travel in an ellipse1 and those of short period1 like ,encke's comet1 make short journeys and may be considered frequent visitors to the neighborhood of the sun4 ,others are long-period comets1 such as ,donati's 7described in the following chapter71 since it requires nearly two thousand years for the round trip4 ,finally there is a third class of adventurous comets which dash in from outer space1 swinging swiftly round the sun in the focus of its curve1 and darting off again with no prospect of returning1 since they cannot possibly get round the other focus4 ,whence they have come or whither they have gone1 no man knows6 ,they are like the sparrow referred to in a simile used by a courtier in the days of ,king ,edwin1 who compared its fleeting visit to the life of a man3 8,it is as a sparrow's flight through the hall when you are sitting at meat in winter tide1 with the warm fire lighted on the hearth1 but the icy rain storm without4 ,the sparrow flies in at one door1 and tarries for a moment in the light and heat of the hearth fire1 and then flying forth from the other1 vanishes into the wintry darkness whence it came40 ,,chapter ,,three ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,donati',s ,,comet ,hast thou ne'er seen the comet's flaming flight8 ,th' illustrious stranger1 passing terror sheds ,on gazing ,nations1 from his fiery train ,of length enormous1 takes his ample round ,thro' depths of ether2 coasts unnumbered ,worlds1 ,of more than solar glory1 doubles wide ,heaven's mighty cape2 and then revisits ,earth1 ,from the long travel of a thousand years4 --,,young4 8,night ,thoughts40 ,when a comet draws near to pay its respects to its ruler1 the sun1 it usually assumes a splendor befitting this momentous occasion4 ,it adorns itself with a glittering train millions of miles in length1 and composed of myriads of particles reflecting the sun's light4 ,the head is often enveloped in a multiplicity of transparent veils1 through which bright jets may be seen emanating from the star-like nucleus within4 ,some comets have been seen with five or six trains1 spread out like that of a peacock1 the camera revealing rapid and marvelous changes in their appearance1 during the course of a few hours4 ,no fair dbutante1 about to be presented to royalty1 could vie with a comet in capriciousness regarding her raiment1 nor could she equal it in splendor1 even though she owned the mystic lamp of ,aladdin4 ,the brief assumption of splendor on the part of a comet is very unlike its usual humdrum existence when it is as yet so far distant as to be not only invisible to the comet-hunter1 but beyond range of the far-reaching eye of the telescope or the entrapping power of the camera4 ,not the slightest impression is made on the photographic plate1 and as far as an observer on planet earth is concerned the comet might have ceased to exist4 ,it is only when it begins to draw near to the sun that we are enabled to obtain a record of the marvelous changes produced in its appearance1 until at its nearest approach it has sometimes been known to vibrate as though with intense excitement4 ,for instance1 in the case of ,biela's comet1 concerning which a special account is given further on1 it was apparently so overcome at its last appearance in #ahdf1 that it split in two and literally went to pieces4 ,quite a different story is told concerning the magnificent comet which greeted us in the summer of #aheh1 and was first seen at ,florence on the #b;d of ,june by ,giambattista ,donati1 after whom it was named4 ,at the time it was merely a nebulous mass about one-twentieth the diameter of the moon1 and for some weeks it retained about the same brightness except for a gradual increase in the central star-like point1 the only indication of its coming splendor4 ,at the end of ,august it had increased so rapidly in brightness that by ,september it was visible to the unaided eye1 resembling a hazy-looking star adorned with a small tail4 ,gradually1 as it drew nearer to the sun1 it increased in size and splendor1 reaching its maximum brightness in ,october4 ,its train extended over an arc of forty degrees1 or eight times the distance separating ,alpha and ,beta--the so-called pointers in the constellation of ,ursa ,major1 the ,great ,bear4 ,its real length was then about forty-five million miles1 with a width of ten million4 ,the nucleus varied in diameter from five hundred miles to three thousand1 or nearly half that of our planet earth4 ,the comet was kept under accurate observation for fully nine months1 and during part of that time it was visible to the naked eye4 ,professor ,g4 ,p4 ,bond1 the director of the ,harvard ,college ,observatory1 availed himself of the opportunity thus presented1 of making a series of drawings of the comet which convey an excellent idea of its changing appearance1 and the delicate shadings and misty outlines of this marvelous visitant from the star-depths4 ,these drawings are of all the more value1 since it will be nearly two thousand years before ,donati's comet visits these realms again4 ,to go back to the earlier history of the comet1 before these drawings were made1 we find that its tail was not observed telescopically until seventy-three days after ,donati's discovery4 ,it was seen on ,august #ad1 #aheh1 by astronomers at ,copenhagen and ,vienna1 but not at ,harvard until the #bjth of that month4 ,the brilliancy of the comet was somewhat impaired by a strong twilight and its low altitude4 ,this may account for the fact that it was described as ruddy in hue1 and concentrated1 and having a mere suggestion of a tail4 ,on ,august #bc the tail was still so faint as to be easily overlooked in the moonlight1 the record being3 8,bright1 but no trace of a tail2 the sky clear1 but the moon nearly at full40 ,on ,august #cj1 according to the record in the ,times 7,london71 of observations made by ,j4 ,russell ,hind1 8,the comet was just perceptible to the naked eye2 its nucleus is strongly condensed and brilliant1 and the tail is thrown off in the ordinary form1 without bifurcation40 ,during the month of ,september the tail of the comet showed a tendency to curve1 and by ,september #g it was recorded as being very conspicuous to the naked eye4 ,september #ab it had increased wonderfully in brilliancy1 and on ,september #af the first sketch was made by ,g4 ,p4 ,bond1 showing a view of it with the naked eye4 ,the tail was now estimated as being #g long1 thus exceeding the distance 7of #e7 separating the pointers4 ,a tangent to the convex edge near the nucleus prolonged would pass through ,delta in ,ursa ,major1 and it was noticeable that this side was the brightest in all the sketches4 ,a narrow dark channel extending from the nucleus up the axis of the tail was very remarkable1 and its edges were surprisingly well defined1 especially very near the nucleus4 ,in fact1 the comparatively sharp definition of the eastern edge of the tail was in marked contrast to the softness of outline on the western side4 7,see ,monthly ,notices1 ,r4 ,a4 ,s41 ,vol4 ,,xix1 pp4 #hh-hi47 ,by ,september #bg the length of the tail as observed with the naked eye was about #i or #aj4 ,it was curved1 convex toward the star ,cor ,caroli1 being much better defined on the side near the star than on the concave side4 ,the narrow dark stripe in the axis of the tail was still very marked1 and the outline of the tail could be traced from the nucleus halfway to ,delta in ,ursa ,major1 and a degree or so further4 ,it was now strongly curved and its upper outline well defined and bright as compared with the inner4 ,a straight ray or secondary tail could be seen faintly suggested on the eastern side and reaching northward from the main tail4 ,by ,october #c a marvelous change had taken place in the appearance of the comet4 ,the train had increased in length and brightness1 extending nearly as far as ,eta in ,ursa ,major1 and the straight ray or secondary train was still very much in evidence4 ,it was supplemented by another slender ray1 as shown in drawings made by ,professor ,bond on ,october #d and #e1 but it had vanished by ,october #f1 although its position was indicated1 for that date1 in the faint suggestion of a ray between the main tail and the outer or secondary tail4 ,the bright star to the left of the nucleus of the comet is ,arcturus 7in the constellation ,botes71 over which the comet passed without perceptibly diminishing its brightness1 thus showing of what airy texture the train of a comet is composed4 ,was it not ,sir ,john ,herschel who said that a comet could be easily packed in a portmanteau1 and in the recent edition of ,the ,vault of ,heaven ,sir ,richard ,gregory gives the following unique illustration of the insignificance of the whole mass of a comet3 ,illustration3 ,,comet ,,of ,,donati ,photograph taken ,october #aj1 #aheh1 at ,harvard ,college ,observatory 8,suppose we could take a comet1 head1 tail and all1 and put it in one pan of a balance1 and we could carve out from the air which surrounds us an object of the same size to put in the other pan1 we should find that our arial body weighed four or five thousand times more than the comet4 ,but though a comet as a whole is lighter than air1 it must not be concluded that comets consist solely of gases in a state of extreme tenuity4 ,the head may be1 and very probably is1 composed of a large number of small but solid bodies2 nevertheless1 when a comet is taken in its entirety1 the mean density is extremely low40 ,by ,october #aj1 the comet was receding from the neighborhood of ,ursa ,major1 drifting across the constellation of ,botes4 ,on this date the comet made its nearest approach to the earth4 ,its train now resembled that of a widely opened fan1 but its outline was already growing dim4 ,it showed strange alterations of dark and bright bands1 resembling the streamers which are sometimes seen to break up the continuous outline of an auroral arch4 ,the extreme length of the tail was nearly #fd1 the greatest extent observed during the apparition of the comet4 ,the secondary tail was still visible1 but extremely faint4 ,october #aa1 the dark stripe in the tail had almost vanished1 the secondary tail was no longer to be seen1 and the main tail was curved like an ostrich plume4 ,its length was now judged to be about #cj1 and the nucleus had somewhat diminished in brightness4 ,by ,october #ae the comet was considerably fainter and smaller1 as seen with the naked eye1 and it was bent southward like a sail wafted by a celestial breeze4 ,after the middle of ,october1 the comet was best seen from the southern hemisphere1 and the last glimpse obtained in the northern hemisphere was on ,october #be1 when it was at an altitude of #c1 the sky fortunately being very clear4 ,the nucleus was still bright1 but the tail was only #a long4 ,its course was then followed by ,maclear1 ,royal ,astronomer at the ,cape of ,good ,hope1 who reported that on ,december #bc the comet was merely a faint nebulous body1 about #ij in diameter1 with a slight central condensation of light and no trace of a tail4 ,thus1 it vanished in the remote depths of space1 in the same undecorated condition as when it first made its eventful dbut to gladden the eyes of mortals on planet earth4 ,its visit lasted but one hundred and seventy-seven days1 from the time of its first appearance until it took its departure along a track which will not bring it within our ken again until nearly two thousand years have rolled away4 ,,biographical ,,note4--,g4 ,b4 ,donati1 the ,italian astronomer1 was born at ,pisa1 in #ahbf4 ,at the age of twenty-six1 he obtained a post in the observatory at ,florence1 and there by his superior abilities1 acquirements1 and unwearied application to duty soon gained a high reputation among the men of science of his native country4 ,he became known to the world in #aheh1 by his discovery of the magnificent comet called by his name4 ,in #ahfd he was appointed director of the observatory in which he had worked so efficiently for twelve years4 ,he then undertook the arduous task of superintending the erection of a new and more convenient observatory on the site of ,arcetri1 near ,florence4 ,all difficulties were conquered1 the new observatory was in working condition1 and the director had entered upon a new series of observations when his labors were suddenly cut short by death4 ,he died at his home in ,arcetri1 ,september #bi1 #ahgc4 ,,chapter ,,four ,,comets ,,in ,,distress 8,thou comest whence no mortal seer can know1 ,thou goest whither nothing human dreams40 --,,anon4 ,until the photographic eyes of ,science detected the peculiarities of comets1 and mathematicians calculated with unerring accuracy their comings and goings1 they were looked upon1 as we have already seen1 with more or less suspicion and dread4 ,nowadays1 we know that these 8airy nothings10 as ,sir ,john ,herschel termed them1 have been unjustly maligned4 ,were they given the power of speech1 they could a tale unfold of adventurous thrills and overwhelming disasters encountered during their voyages in space1 far exceeding in interest any story of terrestrial adventure4 ,it would take the pen of a ,jules ,verne and an author gifted with his vivid imagination to describe the erratic career of a comet4 ,take for instance the tragic fate of the headless comet of #ahhg1 which was described by ,dr4 ,thom of the ,cordoba ,university as3 8a beautiful object with a narrow1 straight1 sharply defined graceful tail over fifty degrees long4 ,it was shining with a soft starry light against a dark sky1 beginning apparently without a head1 and gradually widening and fading as it extended upwards40#d ,now the popular idea of a well-regulated comet is a star with a tail1 but a tail without an accompanying star seems preposterous1 yet a headless comet this object remained as viewed with the naked eye4 ,the why and the wherefore of the tragedy is unknown1 and whether it ever had a head and what became of it remains one of the many unsolved problems of the sky4 ,still more remarkable is the career of the famous comet of ,biela1 from its first appearance as viewed by mortal eyes on ,march #h1 #aggb1 until its final disappearance1 a century later1 in a veritable blaze of celestial fireworks4 ,its story reads like a novel1 and is far more fascinating because it is fact and not fiction4 ,the hero is a faint1 insignificant-looking object which was discovered by ,montaigne of ,limoges1 already referred to as the comet-hunter who so indiscreetly found the thirteenth comet for which his colleague ,messier was industriously searching4 ,little did ,montaigne guess that this foggy speck of light which was so faint that it could only be seen with the aid of his small telescope would one day attract worldwide attention4 ,its nondescript appearance1 with a tail only one-eighth the diameter of the moon1 made it apparently scarcely worthy of more than passing notice4 ,had ,montaigne concentrated his efforts on finding out its peculiarities and tracing its path1 his name would have been forever connected with the little wanderer1 instead of being entered in the annals of astronomy as merely the first to see it4 ,the introductory chapter in its story is connected with a letter written by ,montaigne to the director of the observatory at ,paris1 announcing his discovery4 ,this arrived in time to give the astronomers an opportunity for seeing the comet three or four times ere it vanished on its way outward bound4 ,little more was thought of the celestial visitor until it was glimpsed again thirty-three years later1 in ,november1 #ahje1 by ,pons1 who1 as we have already seen1 shared honors with ,messier and ,montaigne in the 8eccentric vocation0 of comet-hunting4 ,the comet remained visible in the northern heavens for only a month1 when it sank below the horizon and was no longer visible to observers in the northern hemisphere4 ,however1 on this occasion the comet came very close to the earth1 for we are told that it was visible to the naked eye1 even in the strong twilight4 ,then it remained hidden from view until twenty years later1 when it was again rediscovered1 this time by an ,austrian officer named ,biela1 in ,february1 #ahbf4 ,he was determined that the wily object should not be lost sight of again1 as far as its orbit was concerned1 and by means of careful observations and calculations he was enabled to announce that it was traveling along the same route as the comet seen by ,montaigne in #aggb1 and that seen by ,pons in #ahje4 ,therefore1 he concluded that it was one and the same comet1 and predicted its return in #ahcb4 ,however1 when it was announced by the great ,french astronomer1 ,arago1 that the comet at this return would cross the orbit of the earth1 widespread was the consternation among those who did not know what an orbit was4 ,possibly1 imagining that it was something tangible1 we can picture them looking at one another in dismay1 and whispering in awed tones1 8,does this mean the comet will hit the earth1 and if so what will happen to us80 ,a possible collision with the comet was an alarming thought to the ignorant and superstitious1 and the fear caused by ,arago's announcement was so great that it resulted in the first of the many comet-scares4 ,people in dread of the threatened calamity sold their goods and chattels1 and thronged the churches as a fit preparation for the end of the world4 ,there they awaited the expected crash and doubtless were surprised when nothing unusual happened4 ,the earth still continued to roll on its appointed path1 without jolt or jar to disturb the 8even tenor of its way40 ,the nervous gave a sigh of relief when the comet withdrew once more into the obscurity of space1 and those who had parted with their belongings must have felt somewhat annoyed4 ,the so-called devout astrologers who had made use of ,arago's announcement to their own advantage1 when upbraided by those whom they had warned1 did a skillful kind of 8hedging10 by stating that events announced by a comet might be postponed for one or more periods of forty years or even as many years as the comet had appeared days4 ,consequently1 one which had appeared for six months would not produce any effect1 evil or otherwise1 for #ahj years4#e ,thus these wise soothsayers allowed a wide margin for possible results4 ,to give an idea of the filmy structure of the comet1 the cause of such unnecessary alarm1 it was described by ,sir ,john ,herschel1 who observed it on ,september #bc1 #ahcb1 as a round hazy-looking object without a tail4 ,it was moving in the direction of a small group of faint stars1 which were undimmed when overtaken by the comet1 so that it resembled a fog-like mist sprinkled with stars1 this veil of cometary matter being estimated by ,herschel as fifty thousand miles thick4 ,yet1 only a month later1 the remote prospect of a collision with this celestial cobweb caused a panic in ,europe6 ,the comet was first seen on ,august #bc1 #ahcb1 but owing to its excessive faintness was not generally observed till two months later1 when at its nearest to the sun4 ,this occurred during the month of ,november1 within twelve hours of the time predicted by an astronomer named ,santini4 ,at its next return1 in #ahci1 the comet was not well placed for observation1 as it was too near the sun1 and therefore lost in the glare of its light4 ,as computations had shown that the comet was traveling in an orbit requiring six and two-thirds of a year1 it was due to return in #ahde4 ,the first to bid it welcome was an astronomer at ,rome named ,de ,vico1 on ,november #bh of that year4 ,two days later it was observed by ,dr4 ,gall at ,berlin1 but it was not generally seen until ,december4 ,it appeared as a single comet on ,november #bh1 but on ,december #ai it was seen distinctly pear-shaped1 and ten days later it amazed all observers by splitting in two4 ,this marvelous transformation was first detected by two ,americans1 ,mr4 ,herrick1 then librarian at ,yale ,college1 and ,mr4 ,francis ,bradley1 a clerk in the ,new ,haven ,city ,bank4 ,the two were watching the comet on ,january #bi1 #ahde1 taking turns in looking through a telescope which had been erected in the ,athenum tower4 ,suddenly one of the observers exclaimed that he could see a small comet accompanying the larger one1 and we can imagine his friend making some remark concerning defective eyesight4 ,however1 when both saw the duplicity of the comet1 all doubts were dispersed4 ,but what did it mean8 ,had the comet a satellite1 just as the earth has its accompanying moon1 or had the comet actually split in two8 ,however1 the twin comets were seen two weeks later by ,lieutenant ,maury and ,professor ,hubbard at ,washington1 ,d4 ,c41 and two days later it came within the ken of ,european astronomers4 ,incidentally1 three weeks before the twin comets were observed1 ,mr4 ,j4 ,russell ,hind 7,england7 noticed a peculiar lump near the upper part of the nucleus of the main comet1 which may be regarded as the first symptom indicating that something was amiss4 ,on ,january #ae1 ,professor ,challis1 then director of ,cambridge ,observatory 7,england71 had his suspicions aroused when he saw the complete severance of the little comet from the big one1 and the description of his experience is best given in a letter he wrote to the president of the ,royal ,astronomical ,society3 8,on the evening of ,january #ae1 when ,i sat down to observe it ,biela's comet1 ,i said to my assistant1 #8,i see two comets4' ,however1 on altering the focus of the eyeglass and letting in a little illumination1 the smaller of the two comets appeared to resolve itself into a minute star1 with some haze about it4 ,i observed the comet that evening but a short time1 being in a hurry to proceed to observations of the new planet40 ,presumably he here refers to the search for ,neptune4 ,alas6 had he but given his whole attention to that task1 instead of dispersing his energy--as it were--by pursuing a flimsy comet1 ,england might have been acknowledged as first in the actual discovery of that planet4 ,resuming his observations of the comet on ,january #bc1 ,professor ,challis again saw two comets1 but clouds hid them from view for the next half-hour1 and when they had cleared away he was convinced that the comets had moved during the interval4 ,this suspicion was afterward confirmed1 and1 moreover1 ,professor ,challis found that they had moved in unison1 retaining their relative positions meanwhile4 ,he wondered what could be the meaning of this strange procedure1 and whether they were two independent comets1 a double comet1 or that his glass was deceiving him4 8,but ,i never heard of such a thing10 wrote ,professor ,challis4 8,kepler supposed that a certain comet separated in two1 and for this ,pingr said of him1 #8,aligreando bonus dormitat ,homerus4' ,i am anxious to know whether other observers have seen the same thing40 ,in a subsequent letter he shows by his remarks that 8the two comets are not only apparently1 but really near each other1 and that they are physically connected40#f ,the comets continued traveling along in this sociable manner for four months1 at an almost unvarying distance of about #afe1jjj miles1 each developing meanwhile a very bright nucleus and diminutive tail half a degree in length1 or one tenth the distance separating the pointers in ,ursa ,major4 ,sometimes one comet would be devoid of a tail1 sometimes the other1 so that one might almost imagine the tail exchanging owners1 for the comets were rarely both adorned therewith at the same time4 ,during the latter part of ,february1 ,lieutenant ,maury1 at ,washington1 ,d4 ,c41 saw an arc of light extending from the large comet to the small one1 forming a sort of bridge between the two1 this occurring when the small comet was at its brightest4 ,when the large comet had regained its superiority it threw out new rays1 which gave it the appearance of having three tails1 each adjacent tail making an angle of #abj degrees with its neighbor1 one of the tails being the bridge to the new comet4 ,this produced the effect of an arch in the heavens1 through which the stars were seen to pass4 ,one can imagine messages passing to and fro along this bridge of light between the twin comets1 and a possible farewell as they drifted further apart4 ,at their return in ,august1 #aheb1 they were separated by about one million five hundred thousand miles1 and as so often happens in the case of twins it was impossible to tell which was which4 ,the comets were not seen at their next return1 in ,may1 #ahei1 because they were lost in the glare of sunlight1 for the same reason that we are unable to see stars in the daytime4 ,at the next expected visit when the comets were looked for1 in ,january1 #ahff1 they were nowhere to be seen4 ,what had happened in the interval no one knows1 but in #ahgb the whole astronomical world was startled by a telegram from an astronomer named ,klinkerfues of ,gttingen1 on ,november #cj1 to ,pogson1 the government astronomer at ,madras1 which read as follows3 ,biela touched earth on #bgth1 search near ,theta ,centauri4 ,accordingly1 a search was made1 with the extraordinary result that a comet was found1 but not the comet4 ,observations were obtained of it on ,december #b and #c1 but bad weather and the advance of twilight made further search impossible4 ,when the track of the new comet1 for such it proved to be1 was eventually followed1 it was found to be moving along a different route from the one previously followed by the comet of ,biela4 ,nevertheless1 by a remarkable coincidence it happened to be passing by or near the place where this comet was wont to wander1 until he took unto himself a companion comet1 which seems to have led him astray4 ,to be lost is interesting1 especially for a comet1 when one considers the vast expanse of highways and byways in starland1 but the climax of the tragedy in connection with this special comet was not reached until its orbit crossed that of the earth on ,november #bg1 #ahgb4 ,on that eventful night the sky seemed to be literally ablaze with meteors1 which fell in swarms and showers of dazzling gleams of light1 the downpour lasting from seven o'clock in the evening until one o'clock next morning1 the maximum being attained at nine o'clock4 ,we are told that the total number observed in ,england was estimated at a hundred and sixty thousand4 ,they all came from the same part of the sky1 radiating from a point near the beautiful double star ,gamma in the constellation of ,andromeda4 ,but what was the meaning of the display8 ,had it been caused by an encounter of the earth with the scattered fragments of the lost comet8 ,it certainly could not have had any connection with the comet itself1 which1 providing it still existed1 had passed that way three months before4 ,it was more likely the dbris of its train scattered along its path after its breaking up in #ahdf4 ,there seems to be no doubt of the identity of this swarm of meteors with the comet of ,biela1 for on ,november #bg1 #ahhe1 a similar encounter took place1 providing a magnificent display of meteors observed all over ,europe1 just at the moment when the earth was due at a crossing in the former path of the comet4 ,on that same evening1 a piece of meteoric iron fell at ,mazapil1 in northern ,mexico1 during the course of the shower1 and according to ,professor ,young1 8the coincidence may be accidental1 but is certainly interesting4 ,some high authorities speak confidently of this piece of iron as a piece of ,biela's comet itself40 7,general ,astronomy1 ,c4 ,a4 ,young47 ,in #ahib and #ahih1 when the earth again crossed the former path of the comet1 a similar display occurred1 though on a minor scale1 and some of the scattered cometary fragments may still be looked for on the evenings from ,november #ag to #bg4 ,they are recognizable from their slow motion1 short trains1 and from the fact that they all radiate from the second-magnitude star ,gamma in ,andromeda4 7,incidentally1 this is the star so charmingly dealt with by ,dr4 ,holmes1 in the ,poet at the ,breakfast ,table1 really the astronomer of the breakfast table1 as suggested by conversations and correspondence between my father and ,oliver ,wendell ,holmes47 ,the star ,gamma in ,andromeda is easily located1 as it is almost overhead between the dates ,november #ag-bg1 at a convenient hour in the evening4 ,it is in a line with ,epsilon1 the star at the left-hand corner of the ,w-shaped group in the constellation1 ,cassiopeia1 and with ,polaris1 the ,pole ,star4 ,the meteors radiating from this point are variously referred to as the ,andromed1 ,andromedids1 and the ,bielids1 on account of their supposed connection with the ,comet of ,biela4 ,as a matter of fact it matters little what they are called1 as long as we know their appearance and when and where to look for them4 ,they may be looked upon as supplementary to the story of the comet1 and possibly some of the particles may eventually find a resting-place on planet earth4 ,according to ,dr4 ,crommelin of the ,greenwich ,observatory3 8the career of a comet may be said to be over when its meteors have lost all their gas1 or when they have been scattered by perturbations over so wide a space that its unity and visibility are lost4 ,these disrupting causes are most effective when a comet is fairly near the sun2 therefore the oftener that a comet approaches the sun1 the shorter the period of its existence as a comet4 ,i think1 therefore1 that we can ascribe the great prevalence of long-period comets to the principle of the survival of the fittest40 ,long-period comets are those which sometimes require hundreds of years before they return sunward1 as1 for instance1 ,donati's comet with its period of about two thousand years4 ,others of short period1 like ,encke's comet1 are regular visitors to the sun1 returning after a short interval of a few years along a well-known path4 ,once upon a time they may have been long-period comets1 which have had their paths restricted1 owing to the strong attractive pull of the giant planets ,jupiter1 ,saturn1 ,uranus1 and ,neptune4 ,as a result of the disturbances 7or perturbations1 as they are technically called7 thus caused1 according to the so-called capture theory1 ,jupiter has annexed fifty comets1 including the ,comet of ,biela4 ,uranus and ,saturn1 according to the same theory1 own a limited family of two1 while ,neptune has four1 including ,halley's famous comet4 ,its least distance from the sun is #ef million miles at its point of nearest approach1 and #c1bjj million miles when at the opposite end of its orbit4 ,but the great majority of these strange bodies appear to travel in parabolas1 open curves leading from infinite space to and around the sun1 and thence back into the region of the fixed stars4 ,there is a notable instance of a comet traveling about the sun in an immense ellipse1 but1 like the moth1 hovering around a flame which finally causes its destruction1 this comet returned once too often to the neighborhood of the giant planet ,jupiter1 and in an encounter between a large and a small body1 the latter usually comes to grief4 ,its path was curtailed at first1 and subsequently it was shunted on to another line4 ,jupiter1 acting as pointsman on the cometary railway1 is suspected of opening the branch of the ellipse along which the comet had formerly traveled in peace and quiet1 with the result that it was ignominiously sidetracked and sought for in vain4 ,the comet was first discovered in ,june1 #aggj1 by ,messier1 who described it as a rather insignificant object without a tail1 but resembling a nebula with a star-like nucleus4 ,early in ,july it had greatly increased in size1 the nucleus and surrounding haze extending over a space more than five times the diameter of the moon4 ,at this time it came very near the earth1 remaining visible until ,october1 when it grew small and faint1 and finally faded away4 ,meanwhile1 astronomers did their best to determine its path1 notably ,mr4 ,lexell1 of the ,academy of ,sciences at ,st4 ,petersburg4 ,he became so interested in clearing up the past history of this quaint little comet1 that it is usually referred to as ,lexell's comet4 ,he came to the conclusion that the comet of #aggj required five years and seven months for its elliptic tour1 but he was such a long time in getting at this result1 that by the time he obtained it in #aggh the comet was two years overdue4 ,messier made a careful search for it1 but without success4 ,lexell was of the opinion that at the end of ,may1 #aggf1 the comet came so close to ,jupiter that the attractive pull of that planet was three times greater than that of the sun4 ,when a comet rushes around the sun it has to go full speed ahead1 so as to resist being drawn upon its surface1 but as it recedes from the danger zone it gradually slackens its pace1 with the result that by the time it is crossing the orbit along which ,jupiter travels1 it is going at reduced speed4 ,probably ,jupiter was not far from the part of its orbit crossed by the comet in #aggf1 with the result that the unfortunate wanderer was exposed for a longer period to the powerful attraction of the giant planet4 ,this may have caused an important change in the comet's path1 with the result that it escaped from what has been termed the sphere of activity early in ,october1 #aggi4 ,at this period1 according to ,lexell1 the comet was moving in an ellipse with a period of more than sixteen years1 and at such a distance there would be no hope of our seeing it again4 ,he finally considered the comet of #aggj as definitely lost4 ,however1 when ,brooks1 the famous comet-hunter of ,geneva1 ,new ,york1 discovered a comet in #ahhi1 which is known as ,comet #ahhi ,v1 as it was the fifth comet discovered that year1 it was supposed to be the long-lost ,lexell comet of #aggj4 ,for that reason it is known as the ,lexell-,brooks comet4 ,previous to #ahhf1 the comet discovered in #ahhi was traveling around the sun in an immense ellipse1 taking it out beyond the planet ,uranus4 ,around and around the sun it went1 as a moth flutters around a lamp1 until in the year #ahhf it came under the magic spell of ,jupiter4 ,unable to resist this planet's persuasive influence1 the path of the comet was reduced to a smaller one requiring only seven years for its completion4 ,apparently on this occasion the comet passed too near ,jupiter for safety1 and was reduced to four fragments in consequence4 ,when it approached the sun in #ahhi1 and was discovered by ,brooks1 it may probably have been one of the four fragments2 at any rate1 this is the opinion of ,dr4 ,charles ,lane ,poor1 of ,new ,york1 who made a careful and most exhaustive study of the comet and its eccentricities4 ,it remained visible with telescopes of ordinary power until ,march1 #ahij1 after which date it could only be seen with the great telescope at the ,lick ,observatory1 at ,mount ,hamilton1 ,california4 ,with this magnificent instrument ,professor ,barnard followed the comet until ,january1 #ahia4 ,the path of its next return was calculated so accurately that when it was rediscovered on ,june #bj1 #ahif1 by ,javelle1 it was seen within a distance less than one quarter the diameter of the moon from its predicted place4 ,by this time the comet had grown fainter1 as though enfeebled by its long wanderings and the vicissitudes of its career1 and it remained visible for only a few months1 finally disappearing in ,february1 #ahig4 ,for a third time the comet came near enough for us to see it1 and this occurred during the summer of #aijc1 when it remained visible until the following ,january4 ,it was then so faint1 it could only be observed with the largest telescopes4 ,the future of the comet seems as likely to be as interesting as its past4 8,unless it become wholly disintegrated by the pulling and hauling of the sun and planets1 it will be seen again in #aiaj1 and yet again in #aiag10 wrote ,dr4 ,poor in #aijh1 but as a matter of fact it was not observed on either occasion4 ,dr4 ,poor also predicted that early in #aiba it would again come into close approach with ,jupiter1 8and beyond that point its history cannot be predicted4 ,this collision will probably end its story as far as the earth is concerned1 for it will undoubtedly be still further broken up1 and its orbit may be so changed that it will never afterwards be seen40 ,and we must leave it with this unsatisfactory conclusion1 as it did not reappear in #aiba1 and nothing more has been seen or heard of this comet4 ,by now 7#aibe7 it may be merely a derelict in space1 at the mercy of any disturbing planet it may happen to pass on the way4 ,these instances give some idea of the dangers to which comets are subjected as they drift like frail barks on the ocean of space4 ,whence they have come and whither they vanish1 no one knows1 but it has been suggested that there is a home of comets4 ,this has been described as a shell of nebulous matter accompanying the sun and planets1 though at a distance some thousands of times greater than that of the earth from the sun1 yet much closer than the nearest star4 8,however1 we have no direct evidence of any such comet-dropping envelope10 according to ,professor ,c4 ,a4 ,young4 ,yet supposing it does exist1 we see in imagination baby comets cradled therein in nebulous mist until they are able to take care of themselves4 ,then they are presumably launched forth on their perilous career1 as they make their way towards their ruler1 the sun1 to pay their respects4 ,woe betide them should they cross the path of one of the giant planets at an inauspicious moment1 or approach too near the sun1 which would prove equally disastrous4 ,,chapter ,,five ,,photography ,,as ,,applied ,,to ,,comets 8,with its three eyes--the eye of keenness1 the eye of patient watchfulness1 and the eye of artistic truth1 photography promises to be a ,cerberus to the science of the future1 whose watchfulness will prevent the admission of error and detect truths which would otherwise escape us40 --,r4 ,a4 ,,proctor4 ,these words written by my father1 in his book entitled ,the ,universe of ,suns1 shortly after the appearance of the comet of #ahhb1 have since been amply confirmed1 not only in connection with the sun1 moon1 and stars1 but still more so regarding the hitherto unknown peculiarities of comets4 ,so far we have gained some idea of the appearance of a comet as seen with the naked eye1 or with the aid of a telescope1 but it now remains to be shown what can be accomplished by means of photography4 ,pictures of the ever-varying transformations1 for instance1 which took place in the appearance of the celebrated ,morehouse comet of #aijh1 opened out new vistas in cometary wonders1 hitherto beyond our ken4 ,successive photographs taken during the course of a night1 pictured for us the unfolding of the comet's train1 its spreading outward like a gigantic fan of gauze-like texture1 and eventual closing up till it resembled a sheaf4 ,by means of the revelations thus made by the camera1 we became aware of the marvelous quick-change effects produced in the appearance of this comet not only from night to night1 but sometimes during the brief interval of less than an hour4 ,nevertheless1 as seen with a telescope1 the ,morehouse comet appeared inconspicuous and was invisible to the naked eye4 ,the first attempt at taking a photograph of a comet was made by ,bond at ,harvard ,college ,observatory in #aheh1 in connection with the magnificent comet of that year1 but his efforts only met with partial success4 ,the next venture was made in #ahha1 by ,sir ,william ,huggins1 in our country1 and ,dr4 ,henry ,draper1 of ,new ,york1 but entirely satisfactory photographs of a comet were not obtained until #ahhb1 when the great ,daylight comet became a conspicuous object in southern skies4 ,this comet was first seen on ,september #c1 by some employees of the railroad in ,auckland1 ,new ,zealand1 and by other persons whose duties required them to rise before daylight4 ,the names of these fortunate observers are unknown1 but what a privilege to obtain the first glimpse of the comet4 ,illustration3 ,,photograph ,,of ,,morehouse ,,comet1 #aijh ,c ,taken on ,november #ai1 #f h4 #d m41 at the ,royal ,observatory1 ,greenwich ,anyone acquainted with the clear1 limpid blue of the skies at dawn in ,new ,zealand1 and the brilliancy of the stars despite the near approach of sunrise1 may gain some idea of the vivid appearance of the little comet in their midst as seen on this occasion4 ,the writer1 who spent a year in ,new ,zealand 7#aiac-ad71 has vivid recollections of the beauty of the dawn ushering in daylight during the course of her travels to and fro1 and has almost an envious feeling with regard to those fortunate people 8whose duties required them to rise before daylight10 thus enabling them to obtain the first view of the comet4 ,as in the case of the brilliant star in the ,east1 which guided the three wise men of old to ,bethlehem1 doubtless they likewise 8rejoiced and were exceeding glad40 ,the news of the discovery of a comet was soon made known1 for on ,september #f ,dr4 ,gould1 director of the ,cordoba ,observatory in ,south ,america1#g received information that a bright comet was visible in the east before sunrise4 ,his informant had seen it on the morning of ,september #e1 when it was described as being as bright as the planet ,venus4 ,at ,reus1 near ,tarragona1 it was bright enough to be seen at one time through a passing cloud when at a distance of only three times the diameter of the sun from its edge1 or 8limb10 as it is technically termed4 ,according to the report of ,dr4 ,gould regarding the weather conditions prevailing at ,cordoba1 the morning of ,september #g was cloudy and the eastern sky overcast on every morning during a whole week4 ,nevertheless1 on one occasion it was thought that a part of the comet's tail could be seen4 ,it was not until ,september #ad that conditions were again favorable for observing the comet4 ,fortunately the link in the chain of observations was supplied by an enthusiastic amateur astronomer1 ,mr4 ,john ,tebbutt1 who watched the comet from his observatory at ,windsor1 ,new ,south ,wales4 ,on ,september #h1 he received a telegram from the ,government ,astronomer at ,melbourne1 to the effect that a large comet was reported due east at four o'clock in the morning4 ,other messages were received during the day from different parts of the colony1 and from the information thus supplied ,mr4 ,tebbutt was enabled to observe the comet on the mornings of ,september #i and #aj4 ,by this time the nucleus of the comet was large and remarkably brilliant1 and the tail about #c or #d in length1 not quite the distance separating the pointers in ,ursa ,major4 ,illustration3 ,,john ,,tebbutt1 ,,noted ,,comet-,,hunter ,,of ,,windsor1 ,n4 ,s4 ,w4 ,mr4 ,tebbutt had already distinguished himself as a successful comet-hunter1 and in addition had vainly endeavored to form a society such as existed for comet-hunting in the northern hemisphere1 but his efforts only ended in disappointment4 ,as he wrote in his ,memoirs1 8although several astronomers owned telescopes suitable for the work1 there was obviously a distaste for systematic observation40 ,he took great pride in his miniature observatory at ,windsor1 actually his own handiwork1 for he was his own bricklayer1 carpenter1 and slater combined4 ,during a visit to the observatory in #aiab the writer was shown numberless books containing the records of fifty-five observations of the comet of #ahhb1 extending from ,september #h of that year to ,march #b1 #ahhc4 ,these observations were made by ,mr4 ,tebbutt with his four and a half inch equatorial1 with the exception of four made with the transit instrument in full sunlight4 ,moreover1 ,mr4 ,tebbutt was the first to see the comet in full daylight with the unaided eye4 ,the second series of observations of the comet in full daylight were made at the ,government ,observatory1 ,melbourne1 but it was not seen in ,europe1 owing to cloudy weather1 until ,september #ag1 one ,sunday morning4 ,it happened that ,dr4 ,a4 ,a4 ,common1 the well-known amateur astronomer at ,ealing1 had directed his telescope to the sun for the purpose of observing sun-spots1 when he had a glimpse of the comet4 ,this was at a quarter to eleven1 at which time the comet was rapidly approaching the sun4 ,unfortunately1 clouds intervened1 rendering further observations for the time being impossible4 ,dr4 ,common sent a telegram to ,dunecht 7,lord ,crawford's observatory near ,aberdeen7 so that the astronomers there might be on the lookout for the comet1 with the result that it was observed by them on the following day4 ,in ,england bad weather1 as usual1 had baffled all attempts at seeing the comet1 and the clouds seemed to be in league with the powers of darkness in keeping it hidden from view4 ,those who can recall watching in vain in ,england1 for ,halley's comet at its return in #aiaj1 can fully sympathize with the disappointed watchers of the sky in #ahhb4 7,in those days the writer was not nearly so enthusiastic as she should have been at the brief view of the comet obtained early one chilly morning4 ,admiration was slightly tinged with wonder at all the excitement over 8a small white star with a train a yard long0 which scarcely seemed worth the trouble of getting up for during the wee sma' hours4 ,nevertheless1 there is comfort now in the thought1 that this--her first comet--was one long afterward to be remembered47 ,day after day the comet grew in splendor1 until by ,september #ab it was almost the cause of a momentary panic on the occasion of the attack at ,tel-el-,kebir4 ,the story is told by ,colonel ,e4 ,major1 somewhat as follows1 in his book entitled ,lord ,wolseley3 ,it seems that each morning ,sir ,garnet in the early dawn had reconnoitered the enemy's position from the high ground above their lines1 and he had noticed that their pickets only came out beyond the defenses at daybreak4 ,he therefore decided upon a night attack1 which must be sudden and decisive1 so that the enemy might be crushed and scattered early in the day4 ,this would enable the cavalry to make an immediate dash for ,cairo1 while the infantry occupied ,zagazig4 ,after making all arrangements1 we are told3 8,the troops set off in silence1 no smoking or giving of orders aloud being permitted4 ,the engineers had set up directing posts as guides in the earlier part of the march1 but in the deep darkness of a moonless night these were not easy to find4 ,only the ,north ,star and the ,little ,bear1 shining through the drifting clouds1 gave the leaders some fixed point by which to find the way4 ,sir ,garnet sent his own naval aide-de-camp1 ,lieutenant ,rawson1 ,r4 ,n41 who was accustomed to steer by the stars1 to act as a guide with ,sir ,edward ,hamley's division4 ,even with this help the flanks of the ,highland ,brigade in the course of the night march lost their direction after a short halt1 and circled round until a crescent-like formation was the result4 8,a second halt was necessary to remedy the confusion4 ,soon after1 a strange light appeared upon the horizon1 and ,sir ,garnet feared it was the first sign of the coming dawn4 ,if so1 the night attack had failed4 ,but no rising sun followed that long streak of light1 and later on they learned that a comet had been observed in the heavens for the first time on that eve of ,tel-el-,kebir40 ,on ,september #bg1 the comet was seen at ,vienna1 according to a telegram received by the ,astronomer ,royal at ,greenwich1 but meanwhile it had been observed continuously at the ,cape of ,good ,hope ,observatory since ,september #h4 ,it was seen on this date by ,mr4 ,finlay1 a member of the observatory staff1 while he was going homeward after working all night at the dome4 ,happening to glance eastward1 his attention was at once attracted by the comet4 ,returning hastily to the observatory1 he proceeded to make the necessary measurements for recording its position with regard to a small star in its neighborhood4 ,one can imagine the anxiety with which its reappearance was awaited next morning by ,sir ,david ,gill1 the director of the observatory1 and by those who may have heard the good news of a comet in the offing4 ,the following morning the comet was again observed1 and ,sir ,david ,gill sent a telegram to ,sir ,james ,anderson1 chairman of the ,eastern ,telegraph ,company3 ,kindly tell ,astronomer ,royal1 ,greenwich1 that bright comet was observed here yesterday morning by ,finlay4 ,right ascension this morning1 nine hours1 forty minutes1 increasing hourly1 nine minutes4 ,declination one degree south1 increasing half degree south daily4 ,unfortunately1 the telegram failed to reach its destination1 and was doubtless delayed or mislaid in the confusion of numberless war messages4 ,the first news that reached ,europe about the comet was obtained by means of a telegram on ,september #ab1 from ,dr4 ,cruls1 director of the observatory of the ,emperor of ,brazil4 ,sir ,david ,gill was anxious to prove ,mr4 ,finlay's claim to priority in discovering the comet1 but1 as we have already seen1 he had been forestalled by astronomers in ,australia1 and some claim should be allowed for the 8early railroad workers0 in ,auckland1 ,new ,zealand1 who were actually the first to see the comet1 though their observation thereof had no practical value4 ,for a while the comet was known as the ,cruls comet1 but now it is generally referred to as the great comet of #ahhb1 or the ,daylight comet4 ,however1 later on1 as we have already noted1 it had a rival as a ,daylight comet in #aiaj1 when a fine comet resembling the plume-like appearance of the comet of ,donati was seen to advantage in ,england4 ,the great comet had another rival in popularity in the year #ahhb1 for on ,may #ag1 when ,dr4 ,schuster was developing photographic plates taken during a total eclipse of the sun which occurred on that date1 he found a miniature comet seemingly entangled in the outer rays of the corona4 ,this is the sun's crown of glory which can be seen only during the time the glare of sunlight is hidden from view by the moon coming directly between the sun and the earth4 ,the consequent darkness1 or totality1 as it is called1 can never exceed a duration of eight minutes1 and on this occasion during a still briefer interval of time the little comet was captured by means of the camera4 ,thus1 a permanent record was secured of its presence near the sun1 but as it had not been seen before nor was it seen afterward1 its motion must have been extremely rapid1 and it may possibly have been drawn inward and consumed by the intense solar heat4 ,despite its small size and brief career1 it is distinguished by the name of ,tewfik1 after the then ,khedive of ,egypt4 ,it has been suggested that the comet may be kin to1 or one and the same with1 a comet which had its photograph taken during the total eclipse of the sun1 ,april #af1 #ahic1 having a period like that of the sun-spots1 of about eleven years4 ,possibly ,sir ,david ,gill may have had the photograph of ,comet ,tewfik in mind when he heard of attempts which had been made by ,mr4 ,shoyer of ,cape ,town1 and ,mr4 ,simpson of ,aberdeen1 to photograph the comet of #ahhb4 ,the results had been so far successful as to prove that the comet was capable of giving a distinct impression after sufficiently long exposure4 ,but it was owing to the cordial and enthusiastic assistance of ,mr4 ,allis1 photographer of ,mowbray1 that the first pictures of the comet were obtained4 ,when ,mr4 ,allis1 under the direction of ,sir ,david ,gill1 fastened a simple portrait camera upon the tube of one of the ,cape telescopes1 and pointed it at the great comet1 little did he dream that the experiment would eventually lead to such great results in the future4 ,one can imagine the thrill of triumph as the experimenter watched the gradual process of development on the photographic plate1 until1 as if by magic1 a fine comet was revealed outlined against a starry background4 ,thus1 three or four photographs were obtained1 which excited the greatest interest among astronomers in the northern hemisphere4 ,possibilities were suggested with regard to the construction of a self-recording photographic star chart1 thus replacing the painstaking hand-drawn star charts of the ,herschels1 ,argelander1 my father1 and other astronomers at various times engaged in such work4 ,the gigantic undertaking was ultimately divided among nineteen observatories situated in northern and southern climes1 which will eventually result in a marvelous collection of star charts4 ,these will include millions of stars1 forming a celestial library which may be consulted at leisure either now or a century hence when the makers thereof may have become a mere memory4 ,if a supplementary set is made in the future1 comparisons between the two series may result in important information with regard to star drift4 7,it was by comparing star charts thus made a century apart1 that my father originated the star-drift theory1 by his observations in connection with the five stars of ,ursa ,major in #ahfh1 a theory confirmed by the spectroscopic investigations of ,dr4 ,huggins47 ,celestial photography1 owing to ,dr4 ,gill's suggestion with regard to the star-gemmed photographs of the comet of #ahhb1 may add greatly to our knowledge in connection with such problems1 the records of the past thus becoming the star-lettered volumes for the students of the future4 ,undoubtedly this achievement1 the result of the photographs taken of the great comet of #ahhb1 ranks high among those which make astronomy appeal so vividly to the imagination4 ,now let us see how ,mr4 ,allis went to work in obtaining the portrait of this memorable comet4 ,to secure a perfect picture of its delicate detail1 an exposure of not less than half an hour was required4 ,to obviate the difficulty caused by the rotation of the earth1 ,mr4 ,allis attached his camera with a rapid portrait lens and sensitive dry plate to the declination axis of a large equatorial1 and then turned both the telescope of the equatorial and the camera in the direction of the comet4 ,matters were so arranged that in whatever direction the telescope was turned1 the small camera would turn exactly with it1 and thus by means of clockwork and proper small motions for delicate adjustment1 the comet was kept accurately in the field of view during the whole time of exposure4 ,the camera was therefore also pointed during the whole exposure to precisely the same point of the comet1 and in this way1 after one preliminary failure1 three very beautiful and quite invaluable negatives of the comet were obtained4 ,these three negatives will remain of permanent value as a scientific record of one of the most glorious comets ever seen4 ,to follow the progress of the comet as it increased in splendor day by day1 let us return to the record of ,dr4 ,gould1 director of the ,cordoba ,observatory4 ,on ,september #af1 we are told that the brightness of the comet was such that it was visible with the finding telescope throughout the day4 ,the next day it was so bright that it could be easily observed in full sunlight1 and at eleven o'clock that morning the sun and the comet were in the same field of view4 ,then the comet was hidden for a while1 as it passed between us and the disk of the sun4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,great ,,daylight ,,comet1 ,,september1 #ahhb ,photograph taken at the ,royal ,observatory1 ,cape of ,good ,hope ,on ,monday1 ,september #ah1 the brilliancy of the comet attracted popular attention throughout the country1 and the 8blazing star0 near the sun was the one topic of conversation4 ,in the small telescope it presented the aspect of a brilliant nebulous mass1 having on each side curved appendages like horns or wings1 nearly as large as the central body1 and at their base quite as brilliant1 the general form of the whole reminding one of the winged globes carved on ancient monuments4 ,this appearance1 doubtless due to the outbreak of glowing vapors from the nucleus1 was also exhibited1 although to less extent1 on the following two days1 during both of which the comet remained visible to the naked eye4 ,observations made of the comet with large telescopes showed that the nucleus had separated into six or eight star-like knots strung like pearls along a luminous streak some fifty thousand miles in length4 ,the largest of these knots was some five thousand miles in diameter1 an interesting fact as compared with the size of the earth1 which is #g1ibe miles1 according to the ,british ,astronomical ,association ,handbook for #aibe4 ,a faint straight-edged beam of light1 or 8sheath10 accompanied the comet1 enveloping the head and projecting like a hood three or four degrees in front4 ,besides this1 three or four irregular shreds of cometary matter were detected1 escorting the comet1 as it were1 like airplanes1 at a distance of three or four degrees when first seen1 but gradually receding from it1 and at the same time growing fainter4 ,the actual length of the comet's train at one time exceeded one hundred million miles1 more than the distance of the sun from the earth4 7,if the head of the comet had rested on the earth1 and its train stretched outward toward the sun1 it would have extended seven million miles beyond that luminary47 ,the trains of comets have been grouped under three types1 viz41 the long straight rays as shown in the photograph of ,halley's comet1 though this was only one of the many outlines assumed2 the second is the curved1 plume-like train resembling that of the comet of ,donati2 and thirdly the short stubby brushes violently curved4 ,the great ,daylight comet had a greatly curved train belonging to the second type1 and it was mainly composed of carbon compounds4 ,the curvature of the train was due to matter for which the repulsive force is only a fraction of the gravitational force4 ,the pressure of light from the sun was a most important factor in the formation of its train4 ,when the fierce pressure of the sun's light strikes upon the particles forming the train1 it drives the particles which are of the same relative size as the particles of light along with them1 just as when the waves of the sea break against a beach they tend to drive small pebbles and sand upward along the beach4 ,,hints ,,for ,,amateur ,,photographers ,to an amateur photographer who desires to obtain the picture of a comet which may appear perchance in the near future1 their capricious appearance at unexpected periods being one of their charms1 the following hints may be most acceptable4 ,for work of this kind an equatorial telescope is used with a photographic lens and camera strapped thereon4 ,the telescope is mounted on an axis that is parallel to the earth's axis1 and is made to rotate westward by what is called a driving-clock just as fast as the earth turns to the east4 ,it will follow the motion of the sky 7which apparently drifts westward71 and keep every star approximately fixed in the field of view1 or on the photographic plate in the attached camera4 ,otherwise1 the stars will appear as trails of light1 caused by the rotation of the earth as it moves onward at the rate of nineteen miles a second1 which is rather disturbing to an astronomer who may be desirous of obtaining a photograph of the stars overhead4 ,what is he to do8 ,here is our planet turning eastward and the stars apparently drifting westward1 and unless the telescope is made to keep up with the stars by means of clockwork the results are disastrous4 ,consequently1 the telescope is made to follow the star1 comet1 or whatever the desired celestial trophy may be1 and it is kept in such a position that the object in view is centrally placed at the intersection of two threads obtained from a spider's web4 ,for this reason1 spiders are treated with due respect in observatories1 and may explain the expression of dismay the writer saw on the face of an ,indian assistant at the ,kodaikanal observatory in southern ,india1 when she nearly dispatched one of these noxious insects1 which succeeded1 however1 in deftly eluding destruction4 ,illustration3 ,,photograph ,,of ,a ,,bright ,,meteor ,,by ,,dr4 ,w4 ,j4 ,s4 ,,lockyer ,the star trails shown in the photograph taken by ,dr4 ,w4 ,j4 ,s4 ,lockyer give an excellent idea of what happens to a photograph of the stars when the clockwork is allowed to run down4 ,in this instance the telescope1 with the accompanying camera1 was stationary during the exposure of a little over two hours1 with the result that the stars photographed are not points of light1 but bright and faint lines in sections of circles1 since the telescope was pointed to the pole of the heavens4 ,the interest in this photograph is increased by the fact that a meteor dashed across that part of the sky during the course of the exposure1 thus resulting in one of the finest photographs of a meteor ever obtained4#h ,had the exposure lasted during twenty-four hours1 and the photograph been taken in ,norway some time during the course of their long winter night1 the trails would have been complete circles4 ,by this means we do not get a picture of the stars1 but simply a photograph illustrating the rotation of the earth4 ,to obtain a picture of the stars1 therefore1 an equatorial attachment1 as above described1 is an absolute necessity4 ,some people have an idea that all an astronomer has to do in making photographs of a comet1 or other celestial object1 is to turn the telescope in the direction wanted1 strap on the camera1 wind up the clock1 and then go homeward for a good night's rest4 ,unfortunately1 no driving-clock has yet been devised so perfect as to move the telescope exactly with the stars4 ,according to ,professor ,e4 ,e4 ,barnard1 who was an expert on such matters-- 8,there is always more or less irregularity of motion1 all of which would be recorded on the plate1 and the stars1 instead of showing as merely points of light1 would be elongated and blurred4 ,the fainter ones would not show at all1 because they could not be still long enough to have their pictures taken4 ,that is why you see in the photograph the observer with his eye #8glued to the telescope1' watching a star1 a guiding star which he constantly keeps behind the intersection of two illuminated spider threads in the eyepiece1 by the slow-motion rods which are controlled by his hands40 ,thus1 every star or comet is kept immovable on the sensitive plate1 and it paints its own portrait as long as the telescope is made to turn westward as fast as the earth rotates eastward4 ,that is why a driving clock is absolutely necessary for the amateur comet photographer who is desirous of obtaining accurate results4 ,many hours are required in obtaining a successful photograph of such comets as the ,morehouse comet1 the sensitive plate requiring sometimes an exposure of many hours before it reveals satisfactory results4 ,the observer must sit patiently hour after hour1 guiding the instrument1 and the writer has some idea of what this must mean1 from a brief five minutes' experience at ,mount ,wilson in connection with the sixty-inch reflector4 ,as a great favor she was allowed to hold the bulb in her hand which by the slightest pressure brought back an erring star which had attempted to stray momentarily from the center of the field of view of the telescope4 ,when one considers the hours spent by the late ,professor ,barnard in this nerve-racking work1 the patient endurance of the astronomers who specialize in celestial photography becomes evident4 ,it is an arduous task1 and one doubtless subject to many disappointments1 to avoid which ,professor ,barnard tried to formulate some set of rules that would be dependent on the local time and position of the comet1 but these were finally rejected4 8,so much would depend on the purity of the atmosphere at the time1 the size and light ratio of the lens1 the kind of plate used1 etc41 that they would probably lead to the very errors against which we wish to guide40 ,the position of the comet with respect to the point of sunrise or sunset1 and freedom from any form of haze in the sky1 are important factors in the exposure of comet plates4 ,moreover1 it is necessary that they should not be exposed too early in the evening or too late in the morning1 in either case resulting in unsatisfactory negatives4 ,the best of all rules is the judgment of the observer at the moment1 but only long experience will warn one by a glance at the sky when there is danger of failure in this class of work4 ,it is the few moments at the beginning or end of the exposure that will injure or ruin the plate4 ,with a small portrait lens 7the most useful size is about six inches7 essentially everything about a comet will be shown as quickly as with a larger one4 ,the main advantage of the large lens would lie in its greater scale--which of itself is of great importance4 ,another source of danger is moonlight1 especially in the case of a long exposure4 ,nevertheless1 according to ,professor ,barnard1 important results may be obtained in full moonlight1 if the comet is not too near the moon4 ,much1 however1 will depend upon the clearness of the atmosphere2 the purer it is the less will the moonlight affect the plate4 ,in this case a dew-cap helps much4 ,on an ordinary moonlit sky an exposure of half an hour with a quick portrait lens will not ruin a fast plate if the comet is not too near the moon4 ,in full moonlight1 however1 a longer exposure1 unless under exceptional conditions1 will seriously injure or ruin the plate4 ,with the half-hour exposure the plate will be fogged1 and of course the best quality of negatives cannot be obtained therefrom4 ,all plates should be backed to prevent halation4 ,a backing made of sugar and burnt sienna is recommended as entirely satisfactory1 and can be kept in stock4 ,the formula as supplied by the ,cramer ,dry ,plate ,company is as follows3 ,cook two pounds of granulated sugar in a saucepan1 without the addition of any water1 until it is nearly in the caramel or fudge stage4 ,then stir in one pound of burnt sienna and cook a little longer1 stirring well4 ,do not let the backing get sticky1 or it will be difficult to handle and will not soften so readily when removed from the plate4 ,finally add about half an ounce of alcohol to each pint as a drier4 ,put away in a wide-mouthed stoppered bottle or jar4 ,when needed for use1 dilute a little of this with water to the consistency of a thick but not too wet paste4 ,apply 7not wet enough to run7 to the back of the plate with a wide camel's hair brush4 ,it is not necessary to back heavily4 ,a sheet of soft paper 7an old newspaper7 pressed on the backed surface will prevent injury to the plate1 which should be freshly backed when ready for use4 ,if kept in stock a long time after being backed1 an unequal fogging is likely to occur4 ,before developing1 remove the backing while it is still damp1 with a moist piece of absorbent cotton4 ,should a small amount remain it will not affect the developer seriously4 ,the plates should be carefully dusted with a broad soft camel's hair brush1 after being put in the plate-holder4 ,the camera tube should be wiped out frequently with a damp cloth to free it from dust4 ,it should also have a tight-fitting cover at the plate end to keep it closed when the plate-holder is not in position4 ,there should be four springs1 one at each corner1 on the back of the plate-holders1 to press the plate forward in a constant position4 ,on account of its greater sensitiveness the ,lumire ,sigma plate is recommended by ,professor ,barnard1 although he draws attention to the fact that this plate has frequently been found defective in having small1 round1 transparent and opaque spots4 ,it is also more subject to 8chemical fog0 than the ,cramer or ,seed4 ,otherwise1 it is a beautiful and very rapid plate4 ,when the comet is at its brightest1 the ,seed #bg ,gilt ,edge plates are recommended on account of their general freedom from defects and finer grain4 ,with these few suggestions in respect to photographing comets1 made by ,professor ,barnard in ,popular ,astronomy1 ,no4 #agj1 the amateur comet-hunter is enabled to make an attempt1 at any rate1 at photographing those wonders of the heavens which have proved so attractive on account of their varying appearance from night to night4 ,for those who may not have a ready access to astronomical libraries1 the above condensed account from ,professor ,barnard's article on the subject should prove invaluable4 ,in an account of his life-work given by ,professor ,barnard during the course of an after-dinner speech in ,january1 #aijg1 at ,nashville1 and entitled by him1 8,some ,unastronomical ,experiences of a ,lecturer10 he referred to his interest in comets as follows3 8,i have always been interested in comets4 ,these remarkable objects1 which sometimes sweep across the heavens with their wonderful trains of light1 and which in all ages have been objects of superstition and terror1 are among the most interesting in the heavens4 ,little by little the mystery attached to them is being solved4 ,this has been done mainly through the aid of photography4 ,many of the physical phenomena of the tails of comets are too faint to be seen with the eye1 although it may be aided by a powerful telescope2 but the photographic plate secures a permanent record of these in all their complexity and beauty4 ,these photographs show that the form and other peculiarities of a comet's tail are often utterly transformed from night to night4 ,it is therefore highly important that a continuous series of photographs should be obtained of every active comet that can be observed1 for their phenomena are as evanescent as smoke itself4 8,in #ahib1 at the ,lick ,observatory1 ,i was engaged in photographing a comet 7,swift's7 then visible in the morning sky just before daylight4 ,every morning's picture increased the interest and importance of the work4 ,unfortunately1 ,i had arranged for a lecture in the ,normal ,school at ,san ,jos for the night of ,may #f4 ,i did not want to disappoint the people1 and ,i certainly could not let the comet go by unphotographed4 ,san ,jos was nearly a mile below us in vertical height and twenty-seven miles distant by stage road4 ,the only possible way for me to secure my photograph and not disappoint my audience was to return to ,mt4 ,hamilton that night after the lecture4 ,at ten o'clock ,i hired a horse and buggy in ,san ,jos and drove up that lonely mountain road1 the journey taking five hours1 and arrived at the summit at three o'clock in the morning1 in time to make a photograph of the comet4 ,illustration3 ,,comet #ahic ,,iv ,,brooks ,exposures of ,october #ba1 #bb1 and #bc1 showing probable encounter with some medium which shattered the tail4 ,taken at ,lick ,observatory by ,professor ,e4 ,e4 ,barnard 8,the picture that ,i got proved to be a very important one1 as the comet was then undergoing the most remarkable changes4 ,i must say that a good many thrills passed over me during that lonely mountain ride in the dead of night--some for the chance that ,i might drive over into a caon to death1 and others for the possible interruption of my terrestrial existence through an encounter with some hungry1 roaming mountain lion4 ,in the main1 the journey was a most impressive one4 ,alone in the mountains1 with only the horse in front and my friends the stars above me1 ,i doubt if my courage had not failed me entirely if the friendly stars had not encouraged me with their presence40 ,,chapter ,,six ,,return ,,of ,,halley',s ,,comet ,,in #aiaj 8,it would have been a gratification to know that everyone who saw this wonderful object1 did so with the same feeling of elation and wonder--one would almost say veneration--with which the average astronomer regarded this beautiful and mysterious object stretching its wonderful stream of light across the sky40 --,e4 ,e4 ,,barnard4 ,while ,halley's comet1 at its return in #aiaj1 was undoubtedly a marvelous object as seen in the clear skies of ,america and in southern climes1 yet it was more or less of a disappointment to watchers of the sky in ,england1 because the view was impaired by twilight and low altitude4 ,nor did it come up to the expectations of those whose hopes had been aroused by the fine series of ever-varying appearances1 recorded by the camera in connection with the ,morehouse comet1 referred to in the last chapter4 ,nevertheless1 according to ,professor ,barnard1 expert in photography of celestial objects1 had it not been for the remarkable phenomena recorded by the camera in connection with the ,brooks comet of #ahic 7see photograph71 and the ,morehouse comet of #aijh1 the numerous photographs obtained of ,halley's comet would have placed it in the first rank among the records of these bodies4 ,yet while it lacked much of interest as seen with the eye of the sensitive plate1 it left a lasting impression on the human eye1 adding renewed interest to its long life history of more than two thousand years4 ,the train of the comet reached the prodigious length of #adj1 owing to its being so near the earth1 and its great curvature was shown by the fact that it remained visible in the morning sky for two days after the head had become visible in the evening sky4 ,illustration3 ,,halley',s ,,comet ,from photograph taken at ,union ,observatory1 ,johannesburg1 ,may #e1 #aiaj4 ,exposure #fj minutes4 ,halley1 by whose name the comet is known1 was the first definitely to establish the fact1 suspected before1 that certain comets are regular visitors to the domain of the sun1 returning at stated intervals4 ,for this reason they are termed periodic comets4 ,after ,halley had calculated the paths of twenty-four comets1 he found that three were moving in orbits almost identical4 ,from this he assumed that the three comets must be one and the same1 just as1 when a train passes through a station at regular stated intervals1 one is led to infer that it must be the same train4 ,naturally allowances must be made for delays due to fog or stormy weather1 but these factors are taken into account should the train arrive after scheduled time4 ,in the case of a comet it may be delayed by means of the disturbing effects of the giant planets ,jupiter1 ,saturn1 ,uranus1 and ,neptune1 but in ,halley's day the presence of the last two planets in the solar system was as yet unknown 7,uranus was discovered in #agha1 and ,neptune in #ahdf74 ,therefore the following prediction made by ,halley1 when he was convinced that the paths of the comets which appeared in #aeca1 #afjg1 and #afhb were identical1 is all the more wonderful1 since only an approximate allowance had been made for these disturbing factors4 ,referring to the comet of #afhb1 he said3 8,if it should return according to our predictions about the year #ageh1 impartial posterity will not refuse to acknowledge that this was first discovered by an ,englishman40 ,this was certainly the most extraordinary prediction ever made1 for cometary investigations were then in their infancy1 and ,halley was the only man living who could have computed the orbit of this comet4 ,newton had his doubts regarding the suggestion that a comet seen on one side of the sun might be identical with another seen on the other side some weeks later1 but ,robert ,hooke1 in a letter addressed to ,newton in #afgi1 suspected that a comet could reappear after a definite period4 ,he declared that1 if gravity decreased according to the reciprocal of the square of the distance1 the path of a projectile would be an ellipse4 ,as the year #ageh approached1 one can imagine the interest aroused among astronomers1 and the calculations which were made for determining as accurately as possible the disturbing effects of the larger planets within the sphere of whose influence the comet might pass4 ,it is impossible to convey an idea of the labor involved in making the required computations of the perturbations of this comet throughout a period of two revolutions1 or one hundred and fifty years4 ,it is with a feeling of pride that the author notes the important part taken in this work by ,madame ,lepaute1#i wife of one of the assistants of the great mathematician ,lalande4 ,her work proved of inestimable value according to the following remarks made by her husband on the subject3 8,during six months we calculated from morning till night1 sometimes even at meals2 the consequence of which was that ,i contracted an illness which changed my constitution during the remainder of my life4 ,the assistance rendered by ,madame ,lepaute was such that without her we never should have dared to undertake the enormous labour with which it was necessary to calculate the distance of each of the two planets1 ,jupiter and ,saturn1 from the comet1 separately for every degree1 for one hundred and fifty years40 ,amid all these difficulties1 the computers toiled on1 and finally1 as the time was drawing near for the return of the comet1 ,clairaut1 who was working in conjunction with ,lalande1 announced that the expected comet would be delayed one hundred days by the influence of ,saturn1 and five hundred and eighteen days by the action of ,jupiter1 and therefore fixed its nearest approach to the sun for ,april #acth1 #agei4 ,these results were presented to the ,academy of ,sciences on ,november #ad1 #ageh1 and as we have already seen in an earlier chapter of this book1 on ,december #beth of that year the first glimpse of the long-expected wanderer was obtained by ,george ,palitzsch1 a farmer of ,saxony4 ,his telescope was small1 his vision keen1 but the enthusiasm of a devoted amateur made up for his lack of suitable equipment4 ,observations were made of the comet1 and astronomers were soon able to prove that the perihelion passage would take place on ,march #ac1 #agei1 thirty-two days before the epoch calculated by ,clairaut4 ,such a triumphant success of the theory produced a deep impression in the scientific world1 and1 as ,lalande enthusiastically remarked3 8,the universe beholds this year the most satisfactory phenomenon ever presented to us by astronomy2 an event which1 unique until this day1 changes our doubts to certainty1 and our hypotheses to demonstration4444 ,m4 ,clairaut asked one month's grace for the theory2 the month's grace was just sufficient1 and the comet has appeared after a period of #ehf days longer than the previous time of revolution1 and thirty-two days before the time fixed2 but what are thirty-two days to an interval of more than #aej years1 during only one two-hundredth part of which observations were made1 the comet being out of sight all the rest of the time6 ,what are thirty-two days for all the other attractions of the solar system which have not been included2 for all the comets1 the situations and masses of which are unknown to us2 for the resistance of the ethereal medium which we are unable even to estimate1 and for all those quantities which of necessity have been neglected in the approximations of the calculation80 ,twenty-five years before the comet was again due1 its expected return in #ahce began to arouse the interest of astronomers1 and prizes were offered by two academies for the most accurate forecast of its nearest approach to the sun4 ,the successful competitors were ,baron ,damoiseau and ,m4 ,pontecoulant1 and several astronomers undertook and completed the task of computing the planetary perturbations4 ,although the computers1 as might be expected1 differed slightly as to the time when the comet would make its nearest approach to the sun1 yet the difference was not due to any defects in the methods of computation1 but to the imperfections of the data employed1 especially with regard to the unknown disturbing factor1 the planet ,neptune4 ,not only was the time for the nearest approach of the comet computed1 but its exact path among the stars was worked out with such accuracy that directions could be given as to the precise point toward which the telescope must be directed when the comet came within range of observation4 ,on ,august #e1 #ahce1 when ,m4 ,dumouchel1 director of the observatory of the ,roman ,college1 turned his telescope in the direction indicated and looked through the tube1 to his great delight he saw the comet as a faint and almost invisible stain of light on the deep blue of the heavens4 ,thus did science triumph in a most remarkable manner1 the comet making its nearest approach within nine days of the predicted time4 ,it appeared as a nearly circular misty object near to the predicted place1 and began to develop a tail about the middle of ,september1 which attained a length of about twenty-four degrees1 or nearly five times the distance between the pointers1 ,alpha and ,beta1 in the constellation of ,ursa ,major4 ,to the naked eye the head of the comet resembled a reddish star rather brighter than ,antares in the constellation of the ,scorpion4 ,bessel compared it to a blazing coal1 and called attention to the peculiar fan-like haze of luminous matter forming the train1 which seemed to sway to and fro like a pendulum across the radius vector1 an imaginary line joining the sun and the nucleus of the comet4 ,this oscillation took place during a period of four and three-fifths days4 ,he came to the conclusion that a repulsive force about twice as powerful as the attractive force of gravity was responsible for the production of these remarkable effects1 thus anticipating the theory according to which the very fine particles forming the train of a comet may be driven away from the direction of the sun by radiation pressure4 ,meanwhile ,halley's comet was passing through a remarkable series of transformations1 first appearing as a nebula1 then as a well-regulated comet with nucleus and train1 next shining as a star1 and finally dilating till it resembled a ball1 then assuming paraboloidal form about ,may #e1 #ahcf1 after which it vanished as if melting into adjacent space through the excessive diffusion of its light4 ,moreover1 it lost its tail previous to its arrival at perihelion on ,november #af1 nor did it begin to recover its elongated shape until more than two months later4 ,at the return of ,halley's comet in #aiaj it was conjectured that it would probably be greatly disturbed by the influence of the planet ,jupiter1 and that of ,uranus and the newly discovered planet ,neptune4 ,it was therefore possible for ,dr4 ,p4 ,h4 ,cowell and ,dr4 ,a4 ,c4 ,d4 ,crommelin 7both of the ,royal ,observatory1 ,greenwich7 to make a prediction so exact that the comet was found within six minutes of arc in ,r4 ,a41 and four minutes in declination of its predicted place1 as shown on the first photograph obtained4 ,this was equivalent to an angular distance in the sky less than one quarter of the diameter of the moon4 7,incidentally1 a prize of #a1jjj marks1 which had been offered by ,mr4 ,lindemann for the most accurate prediction of the comet's arrival at perihelion1 was won and divided between the two mathematicians47 ,de ,pontecoulant had made calculations regarding the return of the comet many years earlier which were fairly near the truth1 but one month too late4 ,it was action of ,jupiter about the #ahce perihelion that had such an effect on the #aiaj return4 ,the action of ,jupiter at any return does not produce a notable effect till the following return4 ,one of the first photographs obtained of ,halley's comet at this return was due to the foresight of ,herr ,max ,wolf of the ,heidelberg ,observatory1 in exposing a photographic plate for several weeks beforehand1 so as to entrap the wanderer at the first opportunity4 ,it was caught at #b ,a4,m4 in the morning of ,september #ab1 #aiji1 engraving its image on the photographic plate1 a welcome message announcing its advent to the astronomical world4 7,the first photograph obtained of ,halley's comet was taken at ,helwan on ,august #bd1 but ,herr ,wolf was the first to identify the comet's image on the plate4 ,there were also many early photographs taken at ,greenwich47 ,for thirty-two years it had remained beyond the orbit of the outermost planet ,neptune1 then1 obedient to the attractive power of its lord and master the sun1 it had started on the return trip4 ,despite its enormous distance from our planet1 and the fact that it was beyond reach of telescope or camera1 it was possible for mathematicians to trace its path with unerring accuracy4 ,it had approached the orbit of ,neptune after the year #ahhh1 the orbit of ,uranus about ten years later1 crossing that of ,saturn in #aijh4 ,the following year it arrived at the orbit of ,jupiter1 thus bringing it within the range of both the photographic plate and giant telescopes4 ,its actual return to perihelion in #aiaj differed by two and seven-tenths days from the prediction which can be explained only by the existence of forces which are not pure gravitation1 or the possibility of another planet beyond ,neptune1 as yet undiscovered1 acting as a disturbing factor4 ,when the news of ,herr ,wolf's success in obtaining a photograph of the comet had been announced on ,september #ab1 it was followed on ,september #ae by a message from the ,lick ,observatory to the effect that a photograph of the comet had been obtained by ,dr4 ,heber ,d4 ,curtis with the aid of the ,crossley reflector4 ,on ,wednesday morning1 ,september #ae1 ,professor ,s4 ,w4 ,burnham of the ,yerkes ,observatory at ,williams ,bay1 ,wisconsin1 sighted ,halley's comet by means of the great refractor with its forty-inch lens1 while at the same time it was photographed with the two-foot reflector in an adjacent dome1 by ,dr4 ,oliver ,j4 ,lee4 ,the comet was again detected by ,professor ,burnham the following morning1 ,september #af1 and it was also registered on the photographic plate by ,dr4 ,lee4 ,then came the morning of ,september #ag1 one of the most eventful in the life of the writer1 who had arrived the previous day as the guest of the ,barnards4 ,that night the great refractor with its forty-inch lens was in the care of ,professor ,barnard1 who courteously invited the writer to come to the observatory the next morning at #c ,a4,m41 escorted by his niece1 ,miss ,calvert1 for the purpose of looking through the telescope and obtaining a view of ,halley's comet4 ,making a first visit to the observatory in the darkness preceding dawn was an experience in itself1 but the glimpse of the comet after its absence of seventy-five years is one never to be forgotten1 nor is it easy to describe4 ,for the first second or so1 all seemed darkness as ,i gazed down the length of that great tube 7#fc feet7 into the opening beyond4 ,i saw nothing1 and an intense feeling of disappointment overwhelmed me as ,i realized and stated this fact1 but ,professor ,barnard remarked in his whimsical way3 8,surely you did not expect to see the comet with a tail80 ,then he advised me to keep on looking1 and even while he spoke ,i saw a faint1 very misty outline4 8,is it exactly in the center of the field of view80 queried ,professor ,barnard when ,i told him that ,i had seen a nebulous-looking object1 and when ,i replied in the negative1 he informed me that that faint object ,i was looking at was the comet1 which eight months later ,i saw in all its splendor from the tower at the top of the ,times ,building in ,new ,york ,city4 ,meanwhile1 the comet had been slowly increasing in size1 and by ,march #d1 #aiaj1 it presented the appearance shown in a remarkable photograph obtained at the ,helwan ,observatory4 ,it was then suggestive of the nebulous-looking objects which had been catalogued as such by ,herschel and ,messier1 but the latter1 being more interested in comets1 would soon have recognized1 by means of the method already referred to1 the difference as the comet slowly moved against the background of the stars4 ,this is no reflection on the marvelous sight of ,herschel1 but when one reflects on the enthusiasm with which ,messier hunted for comets1 we may be sure any suspicious-looking object he came across was subjected to keen scrutiny before it was catalogued finally as one of those 8embarrassing objects0 he named 8nebul40 ,during the autumn of #aiji and the early part of the year #aiaj the comet was photographed and observed visually at all the great observatories4 ,at the ,royal ,observatory1 ,greenwich1 a fine series of photographs were obtained despite the trying climate of our country4 ,up on the heights1 at the ,government ,observatory at ,kodaikanal in southern ,india1 the progress of the comet was recorded by telescope and camera1 so that our planet might be said on this occasion to have kept its ,argus eye constantly directed toward the celestial visitant4 ,according to ,professor ,barnard1 who made a special study of the comet1 its first appearance resembled that of a small and rather faint speck of light1 very much like a faint stellar nebula4 ,the increase in brightness was not very rapid1 and as late as the final observations in ,february1 #aiaj1 before the comet passed behind the sun1 it gave very little promise of the splendid display it was destined to make later on in the month of ,may4 ,however1 its reappearance from behind the sun in the morning skies of ,april and ,may could not have been under more unfortunate circumstances for observation at the ,yerkes ,observatory4 ,according to ,professor ,barnard3 8that part of the year is always unpropitious here1 and it seemed as if everything combined1 on this particular occasion1 to hide from us the growth of the comet and its approach to the earth4 ,forest fires in the northern part of the ,state 7,wisconsin7 produced a densely smoky sky1 which1 even when the clouds were merciful to us and would have let us see the comet1 cut off with a thick yellow veil all but a glimpse of the bright head40 ,the comet was seen for the first time with the naked eye at the ,yerkes ,observatory on ,april #bi1 the nucleus being bright and of the second magnitude4 ,the tail was visible for a couple of degrees1 but with field-glasses it could be traced for four or five degrees4 ,on ,may #c1 at #c h4 #dj m4 7civil time71 the comet was seen for about one minute in a thin streak of clearer sky1 but the next morning at about the same hour it was a beautiful object with a long tail streaming upward toward the right1 as shown on the magnificent photograph obtained by ,professor ,barnard4 ,the photograph facing ,chapter ,,vi1 taken at the ,union ,observatory1 ,johannesburg1 on ,may #e1 #aiaj1 may give some idea of what was expected but not realized by watchers of the sky in ,england4 ,when it was announced on ,april #bi that the comet had come within range of naked-eye observations1 it occurred to the writer1 who was in ,new ,york ,city at the time1 that a desperate attempt must be made to see the comet1 despite the smoke1 and electric lights turning night into day4 8,when there's a will there's a way10 and while walking along ,broadway on the afternoon of ,april #cj1 wondering how these difficulties might be overcome1 a glance in the direction of the ,times ,building solved the problem4 ,on explaining to ,mr4 ,van ,anda1 the assistant editor of the ,times1 what a very desirable spot the summit of the ,times ,building would be for observing the comet1 a permit was obtained to be handed to the janitor the next morning at #c ,a4,m4 on ,may day4 ,it was indeed a case of 8,call me early1 mother dear10 but an alarm clock served the purpose equally well on this momentous occasion4 ,promptly at three o'clock the permit was presented to the janitor1 and the writer1 ascending in the lift1 was transported to the twenty-third story1 and escorted up a spiral staircase leading to the tower4 ,the door was unlocked by the janitor1 and the writer1 stepping out on to the parapet surrounding the tower1 gazed eastward for the comet1 which failed to materialize1 owing to a dense haze4 ,awaiting until dawn1 the idea of seeing the comet was given up1 but1 nothing daunted1 the same program was carried out at the same hour on ,may #b1 and ,may #c1 but without avail4 ,illustration3 ,,halley',s ,,comet ,photograph taken on ,may #d1 #aiaj1 by ,professor ,e4 ,e4 ,barnard at the ,yerkes ,observatory1 ,williams ,bay1 ,wisconsin ,then came ,may #d1 a bitterly cold morning2 but the stars shone brightly and there was every hope of the comet being visible from the tower heights4 ,these hopes were confirmed1 for on stepping out on to the parapet the writer saw the comet in all its splendor4 ,the hazy-looking object seen on ,september #ag1 #aiji1 had developed into a full-grown comet with a head shining as a star of about the second magnitude1 and surrounded by a nucleus4 ,extending outward like the beam of a searchlight gleamed the tail nearly fifteen degrees in length4 ,calling down to the janitor to make known the good news1 the balcony was soon filled with eager members of the ,times staff1 who were thus enabled to obtain a view of the comet4 ,by means of a field-glass thoughtfully provided by ,mr4 ,van ,anda1 it was possible to see a further extension of the train1 making it in all thirty degrees in length4 ,spurts of light like tiny waves seemed to flow out from the nucleus to a distance of two or three degrees4 ,at twenty minutes to four1 the writer1 on looking downward at the horizon1 was startled by what appeared to be a streak of flame1 but as it rose higher it proved to be the crescent moon1 which with the comet and the planet ,venus1 completed a wonderful trio4 ,the comet remained visible1 resembling a bright star with a slender stream of silvery mist trailing a few degrees after4 ,by four o'clock it had faded in the light of approaching dawn4 ,a glance at the photograph of ,halley's comet obtained by ,professor ,barnard at the ,yerkes ,observatory on ,may #d will give an idea of its splendor4 ,for the next few mornings observations of the comet were disappointing1 owing to heavy mists in the eastern skies4 ,the comet was almost completely hidden from view1 except on the morning of ,may #h1 when occasional glimpses were obtained of it through rifts in the clouds4 ,on ,may #aj1 the nucleus of the comet1 from which extended a diminutive train eight degrees in length and fan-like in appearance1 could be seen for a few brief moments1 after which it remained hidden behind clouds until dawn1 making further observations impossible4 ,it was not until the morning of ,friday1 ,may #ac1 that the comet once more deigned to reveal itself to the straining eyes of the lonely watcher on the tower4 ,the first glimpse was obtained at ten minutes past three4 ,the comet then resembled a faint white streak drifting in the sky4 ,a minute or so later the planet ,venus came into view1 gaining in brilliancy as it rose above the mists near the horizon4 ,at twenty-five minutes past three the train of the comet was twenty degrees in length1 and by half past three it extended to a distance of thirty-five degrees1 or seven times the distance between the pointers 7,alpha and ,beta in ,ursa ,major74 ,it spread out like a partly opened fan1 its greatest width at the extreme end being about five degrees or more4 ,the nucleus shone brightly as a star of the second magnitude1 but by half past three it began to grow less distinct1 and at twenty minutes past four the comet had faded from view on the arrival of the first few streaks of dawn4 ,the comet was barely visible the next few mornings1 though watched for anxiously1 since there was always the possibility that it might reveal itself1 but these hopes were not realized4 ,a glance at the cloudy skies on the morning of ,may #ah suggested the impossibility of seeing the comet1 and for the first time since the morning of ,may #a1 the writer missed her vigil at the tower4 ,interest was revived1 however1 on learning that ,professor ,barnard had seen that morning 8a narrow twilight 7which later proved to be the tail of the comet7 which seemed to extend along the eastern horizon4444 ,the head of the comet could not be seen when it rose1 with either the five-inch or the forty-inch telescope1 because of the thick sky near the horizon4444 ,the observations show that the tail was at least #aji long on that date4 7,astrophysical ,journal1 vol4 ,,xxxix1 no #e1 pp4 #chg-chh1 ,june1 #aiad47 ,now despite the fact that an astronomer at ,columbia ,university had declared the comet would be in the evening sky1 and it was useless looking for it in the morning sky of ,may #ai1 the writer decided1 nevertheless1 to watch for the comet at about the usual hour1 and with the most gratifying results4 ,the parapet surrounding the tower was crowded to its utmost capacity by a favored few on the eventful evening of ,may #ah1 awaiting they knew not what1 for a report had gone forth that we were scheduled to pass through the train of the comet4 ,below us we could see comet parties in progress on the roof gardens of some of the leading hotels4 ,sounds of merriment occasionally reached us1 but by half past ten we--that is1 ,miss ,l41 who had offered to share the lonely vigil with the writer until dawn--were the only watchers on the tower4 ,the hush of a great silence had gradually fallen over the city1 and in silence1 too1 we watched the eastern sky for any further trace of the comet4 ,notes made by the writer on this occasion record #aa4aj1 red flash 7auroral72 #aa4bb1 flash resembling an arch of glowing white surmounted by a crest of crimson4 ,the display occurred above a low-lying bank of mist and rose to about five degrees above the horizon4 ,it was not of any considerable breadth1 and resembled rather a glow of color against the dark background of the sky than a wide band of light4 ,the moon1 which was shining brightly1 interfered seriously with the observations of auroral displays which appeared faint in its light4 ,about #ab4ae a mist appeared to spread over the city1 and the air had become damp and chilly4 ,by #a4cj the mist had cleared away4 ,at #b o'clock a meteor flashed across the eastern sky1 downward in the direction of the star ,gamma in the constellation ,pegasus4 ,it was bluish-green in color1 pear-shaped in appearance1 leaving a streak five degrees in length behind it as it flashed to within ten degrees above the horizon4 ,it remained visible for about five seconds1 and the display was vivid while it lasted4 ,at #b4cj the moon1 low down in the western sky1 appeared of a ruddy hue as it 8sank in a sea of gloom40 ,turning eastward1 we saw a soft glow in the sky spreading from below ,pegasus and upward as far as the stars of ,cassiopeia4 ,at #b4cd a glow of grayish hue extended over the northeastern sky4 ,at #b4dc a bright meteor was seen by ,miss ,l41 but she made no note of its direction1 except that it was eastward1 and a brief glimpse obtained by the writer showed its color as bluish4 ,at #b4de streamers1 which later proved to be the comet1 were observed reaching from the eastern horizon1 below ,gamma ,pegasi1 and curving upward through ,aquarius as far as ,altair1 and brighter in appearance than the ,milky ,way4 ,at its widest part1 just beneath the first-magnitude star ,altair1 the width of the band was about ten degrees1 and throughout its length it had a brilliancy equal to that of the ,milky ,way1 near which it terminated4 ,the path of this band of light was very nearly that along which the comet was last seen1 and the writer was convinced that it was the outer boundary of the tail through which the earth was passing4 ,beneath this streamer1 and apparently resting along the southeastern horizon1 was a secondary band resembling a haze-like misty streamer4 ,this was not as clearly defined as was the upper band1 and1 moreover1 it merged into the mists of the horizon4 ,in connection with a sketch made by the writer on this occasion1 and shown to ,professor ,barnard1 he referred to it as follows in his account of 8,visual ,observations of ,halley's ,comet in #aiaj10 published in the ,astrophysical ,journal for ,june1 #aiad3 8,with the exception of a sketch by ,miss ,mary ,proctor in ,new ,york ,city1 and a newspaper account by ,professor ,d4 ,p4 ,todd of ,amherst 7whose observation seemed to refer to ,may #afth71 ,i have seen no reference from northern observers to the second1 fainter and broader tail shown in my drawings of ,may #ag and #ah1 south of the bright beam and separated from it by a distinct dark space1 perhaps ten degrees wide4 ,the head of the comet was of course invisible1 being below the horizon40 ,this was all the more pleasing to the writer1 as doubts had been expressed in no uncertain terms by a well-known authority1 according to the following statement published in an afternoon paper4 8,some one thinks she saw the comet in the eastern sky1 when it is really in the west40 ,one can imagine the anxious time experienced while awaiting confirmation of the observation1 but it came in due course from ,yerkes1 ,lick1 ,argentine ,republic1 ,south ,africa1 and the writer felt rewarded for the many dreary waits in the tower during the 8wee sma' hours0 since ,may #a4 ,on the morning of ,may #bj1 the writer again watched from the ,times tower1 in the hope of seeing some straggling streamers trailing along the sky1 denoting the presence of the comet4 ,between half past two and a quarter past three a ghostly apparition resembling a slender band of light was seen extending upward1 though almost parallel with the northeastern horizon4 ,it seemed to rest on a darker band of luminous haze beneath4 ,surely this was the last fragment of the train of the comet1 outlined faintly against the dark void of space4 ,that same morning ,professor ,barnard at ,yerkes detected a hazy luminous streak about five degrees broad extending from ,aquil to the east and onward toward ,alpha ,pegasi4 8,this resembled the comet's tail10 recorded ,professor ,barnard1 8but was doubtless a strip of haze4 ,i looked at it several times1 taking it for a strip of haze1 but it did not seem to move4 ,there were masses of moving haze overhead toward the north4 ,to all appearance it looked like the comet's tail of the mornings of ,may #ah and #ai4 ,i cannot be certain that it was not haze1 but it was a singular coincidence of position1 appearance1 etc41 if it was4 ,it remained visible for fully fifteen or twenty minutes40 ,illustration3 ,,comet #ahfa1 ,,july #b1 ,,as ,,seen ,,and ,,drawn ,,by ,r4 ,a4 ,,proctor ,the tail of the comet was near the earth1 which passed through it on this occasion ,the train may have been fan-like1 as in the case of the comet of #ahfa1 discovered on ,may #ac1 by ,mr4 ,john ,tebbutt of ,windsor1 ,new ,south ,wales1 already referred to in the chapter on 8,comet-hunting as a ,hobby40 ,in my father's book1 ,mysteries of ,time and ,space1 he records as follows his view of that comet in connection with the drawing here given3 8,the first recorded observations 7of the comet of #ahfa1 in ,europe7 were made on the evening of ,june #cj1 nineteen days after it had passed its point of nearest approach to the sun4 ,i remember well observing it on the morning of ,july #b1 #ahfa4 ,for some reason ,i found it impossible to sleep that morning1 and getting up about three 7the exact hour ,i do not remember1 but it must have been very early71 ,i saw in the east what looked at first like the rays of an aurora borealis4 ,but presently ,i noticed that these rays proceeded 7unlike those of the aurora7 from a bright center1 which had been hidden by clouds when my observations began4 ,i used at that time to keep a four-inch telescope1 mounted on a three-legged stand1 in my bedroom4 ,this ,i had quickly ready for action 7noting that the object1 owing to the approach of sunrise1 was getting fainter every minute71 and turning it on the comet1 ,i drew a picture of the nucleus and coma1 so closely resembling that which appeared a week or two later in the ,illustrated ,london ,news1 that ,i might have supposed my picture had been surreptitiously sent to the office of the ,illustrated1 had ,i not found it resting just where ,i had put it in my scientific portfolio40 ,returning to the discussion of ,halley's comet1 it was seen on ,may #ba1 at #d4cj ,a4,m41 by ,professor ,evershed1 7then director of the ,kodaikanal ,observatory1 ,southern ,india71 appearing no broader than on ,may #ah1 but fainter4 ,he described it as passing centrally through the square of ,pegasus1 which was nearly filled with the faint light4 ,the tail could be traced1 as before1 right up to the ,milky ,way4 ,the star ,pegasi was nearly in the center of the band of light1 and the star ,aquil near its southern edge4 ,this was the last observation ,professor ,evershed made before dawn4 ,he considered it remarkable that the tail of the comet should have remained visible in the morning sky as a narrow band of light1 nearly two days after the head of the comet had passed to the other side of the sun4 ,he suggested that this might be due to the fact that the tail may have been strongly curved and very broad in the direction of the comet's motion1 although narrow and straight in the direction at right angles thereto4 ,if so1 the passage of the earth through the tail1 if it occurred at all1 must have been delayed one or two days and probably occupied more time than a single day4 ,there is some doubt whether the tail did actually touch the earth1 for observations of its position in the sky on ,may #aa and #ae show that its axis was inclined very considerably northward from the direction of the radius vector1 a straight line drawn from the nucleus of the comet to the sun of the comet4 ,in the forenoon of ,may #ai certain peculiarities observed suggested that our planet may have been actually immersed in the cometary dbris of the train of ,halley's comet4 ,these consisted of a peculiar iridescence and unnatural appearance of the clouds near the sun1 and a bar of prismatic colors on the clouds in the south4 ,this1 combined with the general effect of the sky and clouds--for the entire sky had a most unnatural and wild look--would have attracted marked attention at any other time than when one was looking1 as on this occasion1 for something out of the ordinary4 ,according to the observations made by ,professor ,barnard at the ,yerkes ,observatory1 the sky had been watched carefully during the forenoon of this date1 but nothing unusual had appeared until close to noon1 when the conditions became abnormal4 ,later on in ,june1 and for at least a year afterward1 slowly moving strips and masses of luminous haze were observed in the sky1 which were not confined to any one part4 ,reports of like unusual phenomena were received from the ,transvaal1 and from elsewhere in southern climes4 ,on the evening of ,may #ba the comet made its first appearance in the west1 as seen by watchers on the ,times tower1 but it failed to be very impressive4 ,it was to the left and a few degrees north of the star ,betelgeuse in the constellation of ,orion1 and it resembled a star of the third magnitude4 ,it was surrounded by a hazy cloud-like mist that made it appear nearly as large as the space covered by the moon4 ,to the left of it1 and extending outward about three or four degrees1 were three or four fan-like streamers4 ,at #h4be the nucleus seemed brighter and more star-like in the center1 but the streamers had faded from view and the mist surrounding the nucleus had become hazy and ill-defined4 ,five minutes later only the star-like nucleus could be seen1 doubtless owing to the combination of the glare of moonlight and the haze that reflected the city lights below4 ,on ,may #bd the comet appeared hovering for a brief interval over the western horizon1 resembling a faint star enveloped in mist1 and adorned with a short fan-like tail4 ,on ,may #be the comet could not be seen1 owing to the mist and a drizzling rain1 but on ,may #bf it was visible on two occasions for intervals of about five minutes4 ,it then resembled a fairly bright star of the third magnitude1 surrounded by a misty halo1 but was devoid of a tail4 ,it seemed that our chances of seeing the comet again under favorable conditions were slight1 but on the evening of ,may #bg we were once more regaled with a fine view1 which proved to be final as far as the writer was concerned4 ,at a few minutes past eight the nucleus of the comet appeared1 as usual1 hazy and ill-defined1 but gradually it brightened until it equaled the glow of the first-magnitude star ,regulus1 in the constellation of ,leo near by4 ,only a few degrees of tail were visible at first1 but as the twilight deepened into night more and more came into view4 ,by #h4dj ,p4,m4 it stretched outward about twenty degrees in the direction of the planet ,jupiter4 ,the train was long and slender1 and not more than five degrees at its greatest width4 ,by #i o'clock it was clearly visible1 a dark streak apparently dividing it just beyond the nucleus2 the edges were more or less sharply defined for a distance of about three or four degrees4 ,by #aj4cj the train of the comet had almost faded from view2 at #aj4dj it had become invisible and the nucleus was barely perceptible4 ,within three minutes the nucleus was almost lost to sight in the haze and mist near the horizon4 ,meanwhile1 the moon had risen in the eastern sky1 and by eleven o'clock it was several degrees above the horizon4 ,its arrival on the scene was the climax of an evening rich in glory1 as far as the celestial display was concerned4 ,the view of the comet on this occasion was the best that had been obtained since ,may #bj1 and settled beyond doubt the vexed question that had arisen as to whether the comet had lost its tail or had divided in two4 ,nevertheless1 a glance at a photograph taken by ,professor ,barnard on ,june #f1 shows an apparently smaller comet nestling to the left of the larger1 keeping it company1 as it were1 in its celestial voyage outward from the neighborhood of the sun4 ,by this time the comet had faded sadly1 as ,professor ,barnard expressed it1 and1 though a noticeable object1 was only the ghost of its former self4 ,illustration3 ,,halley',s ,,comet ,from photograph taken by ,professor ,e4 ,e4 ,barnard1 ,june #f1 #aiaj1 at the ,yerkes ,observatory1 ,williams ,bay1 ,wisconsin ,where is it now in its outward journey1 at the present time of writing 7#aibe78 ,science can answer the question as definitely as though it were actually possessed of magic glasses1 enabling it to follow the path of the retreating comet1 although it has long since passed beyond our range of view4 ,it is now approaching the orbit of the planet ,neptune1 crossing it in #aicc1 and reaches its greatest distance outward from the sun in #aidc1 or #c1bjj million miles4 ,in #aifd it draws near to ,neptune again1 and will be halfway between ,neptune and ,uranus in #aigd1 arriving at the orbit of ,saturn in #aihd4 ,once more it will gladden the eyes of mortals as it approaches the planet ,jupiter1 and draws near to pay its respects to its mighty ruler1 the sun4 ,at its return in #ageh the prediction erred on the side of thirty-two days2 at the return in #ahce1 by a margin of only two days2 and in #aiaj1 by the amount of two and one-half days4 ,perchance1 ere it makes its next appearance in #aihe1aj the presence of another planet beyond ,neptune may have been detected1 explaining the disturbing factor resulting in that small discrepancy4 ,the astronomers at that remote date 7#aihd7 may succeed1 therefore1 in making a prediction so exact that the comet may 8swim into their ken0 promptly to scheduled time4 ,few1 if any1 of the present-time readers of this book 7unless it falls into the hands of a very youthful enthusiast7 will be here to welcome the comet at its next return1 and even the youthful enthusiast may have the distressing experience of the ,american astronomer ,dr4 ,lewis ,swift1 who saw ,halley's comet in #ahce1 and was able to welcome it at its return in #aiaj1 but1 owing to failing eyesight1 was unable to see it1 much to his regret4 ,illustration3 ,the orbit of ,halley's ,comet1 which it passes over in #ge to #gg years1 showing where the comet is to be found now1 and during its course until its next return in #aihe4 ,with regard to my first visit to the ,yerkes ,observatory1 the following facts regarding the great refractor may be of interest1 as well as the incident narrated to me by ,miss ,calvert while we were awaiting ,professor ,barnard's invitation to look for ,halley's comet1 on that momentous occasion4 ,the story was deferred1 in my account1 to the final part of this chapter1 so as not to break the thread of the actual account of my first view of the comet4 ,following the description of the telescope1 the story of a catastrophe which nearly ended its career is best told in ,professor ,barnard's own words1 as quoted from the after-dinner speech1 in ,january1 #aijg1 at ,nashville1 already referred to in this book4 8,the tube of this instrument is about sixty-four feet long4 ,in the farther end of this tube is placed the great object glass1 forty inches clear in aperture4 ,when one is looking overhead with this giant telescope1 he must be at a point some thirty feet or more lower than when the tube is pointed toward the horizon4 ,to avoid the use of a high ladder to reach the observing end of the telescope in its various positions1 the floor of the dome itself is made into a giant elevator1 sixty-five feet in diameter4 ,the rising and lowering of this floor--which is done by electric motors--always keeps the observer in a convenient and safe position with reference to the eye-end4 ,this floor is suspended by heavy steel cables which go over wheels at the tops of four towers attached to the inside walls of the dome4 ,the floor is counterpoised by heavy iron weights at the other ends of the cables4 8,within a little over a week after the completion of the instrument and when we had seen through it only once or twice1 the two south cables pulled out of their sockets and the floor fell through fifty feet to the ground and was destroyed4 ,it was a terrible wreck4 ,this was on the morning of ,may #bi1 #ahig1 at #f4cj o'clock4 ,mr4 ,ellerman and ,i had been working all night observing with the telescope4 ,when we quit at daylight we left the floor at its highest point for the convenience of some workmen who were to be at work on the tube in the morning4 ,when the floor fell there was not a soul in the building1 and no one was injured4 ,a couple of hours either way1 and death in all probability would have come to one or the other of us4 ,only a few nights before this accident the president of the ,university of ,chicago and thirty or more trustees and prominent men of the university had seen through the telescope1 and the floor had been up and down with them on it4 ,if it had fallen then a heavy loss of life would have been almost certain4 ,a few days before that1 ,mr4 ,clark1 who made the great glass1 had unpacked the forty-inch disks on the floor at its highest point1 and had put them in the cell which he finally bolted to the end of the telescope4 ,if the floor had fallen then1 the great lens would have been destroyed1 with the probability that no one would be able to make another1 for ,mr4 ,clark died within a few days after he returned to ,cambridge4 ,it was providential1 then1 that the floor fell when it did2 for the fault in the attachment of the cables made it certain that it must soon have fallen4 8,but this is not the end of the story4 ,when the floor fell1 it lurched against the great iron pier of the telescope and must have given it a violent blow4 ,there was some fear that the great glass might have been injured by the shock4 ,it was nearly a hundred feet up in the air and could not be reached to see if it was unharmed4 ,by climbing up on the dome 7which is one hundred and ten feet high7 and looking down at the glass1 it was seen to be apparently uninjured4 ,still1 the test could only be made by examining the stars through it1 which was not possible until the floor was replaced by a new one4 ,four months were occupied in taking out the wreck and putting in the new floor4 8,there was great anxiety to see the sky through the glass1 and the first night available it was turned to the stars4 ,to our consternation1 there was a great1 long flare of light running through every bright star we examined4 ,this was so strong and conspicuous that it would make the instrument utterly useless4 ,it looked as if the lens had been injured by the shock of the floor against the pier4 ,we examined it in all positions of the instrument1 but we could not get rid of the glaring defect4 ,as ,i had used the glass more than anyone else before the accident1 my statement that the defect did not then exist made the matter all the more serious4 ,it was with heavy hearts that we waited for day to again critically examine the lens4 ,the next day we all examined the great glass very carefully1 but could see nothing wrong with it4 ,then ,professor ,hale noticed that just back of the glass in the tube was a thick mass of spider webs stretched across the tube1 all running in the same direction4 ,upon comparing notes we found that the direction of the spider webs coincided with that of the flare of light seen the night before4 ,it seemed that a spider had evidently got in the tube before the object glass was put on by ,clark1 and had been unable to get out2 for there was no opening in the tube4 ,during the time the tube remained at rest1 while the new floor was being put in1 he had climbed up to the great glass in the direction of the light2 and when he found his egress barred by the great window1 he spun his web1 perhaps as a signal of distress1 or maybe in the hope that some unlucky fly might get in through the glass that he could not get out of--anyway1 with the result that he caused several astronomers the most uneasy time of their lives4 ,when these webs were swept out by one of the astronomers climbing up in the tube with a feather duster1 it was found that night1 when the stars were examined1 that the flare had vanished and the mighty glass was uninjured40 ,,chapter ,,seven ,,origin ,,of ,,comets ,,and ,,meteors 7,,theories ,,advanced ,,by ,,the ,,late ,,richard ,a4 ,,proctor47 ,among the author's most treasured possessions is a clipping from the ,cincinnati ,daily ,gazette for ,february #ah1 #ahgd1 containing a report of a lecture given by her father1 on 8,comets and ,meteors10 from which the following is an extract3 8,in this lecture on comets and meteors1 ,i promised to give some account of what is expelled from the sun when great explosions take place4 ,if ,i were to say that the comets were shot out from the sun you might be startled1 or if ,i asserted that they were also thrown out of ,jupiter and ,saturn4 ,but the evidence in connection therewith is very curious4 ,in the first place1 we know that matter is shot out from the sun1 with a velocity so great as to be carried away from him altogether and so would travel into space4 ,that has only been observed a few times1 but the occurrence is probably very frequent4 ,the matter which was expelled1 if it struck the earth at all1 would strike in the daytime4 ,the side of the earth facing the sun will be the illuminated side4 ,the meteoric matter coming from the sun can only strike the illuminated part1 and this can only happen in the daytime4 ,you throw a stone at any object1 and it must strike the side of the object you aim at1 that is turned toward you4 ,humboldt affirmed that the largest number of meteoric masses had fallen in the daytime4 ,the larger arolites have been examined and their microscopic structure studied4 ,sorby of ,sheffield1 who examined some of them1 says they consist of a number of small globules and were originally in a vaporous state before assuming their present condition4 ,then came a chemical analysis by ,professor ,graham and ,chandler ,roberts of ,london4 ,they found in the iron of the meteoric mass more hydrogen than iron in a natural condition4 ,professor ,graham said that in his opinion meteors certainly contained iron1 and that probably they had been expelled from one of the stars that people space4 ,he drew attention to the fact that stars contained hydrogen in their atmosphere4 ,these are some of the facts concerned with the larger meteoric masses4 8,how shall we account for those meteoric streams which travel close to the path of ,jupiter8 ,all comets of short period have paths closely approaching some of the large planets4 ,the comet of #afhj went close to ,jupiter1 long before the explosive power of the sun was noticed4 ,i call them ,jupiter's family of comets4 ,sir ,john ,herschel said that it was very curious that they had that relation4 ,if we put forward the theory that ,jupiter expelled these comets1 we have a very startling theory1 but many of the theories which have been propounded1 some of the most important character and which have been proved to be true1 have been the most startling4 ,it is said that as ,jupiter1 ,saturn1 and ,uranus go along their paths1 they draw in the comets which travel close to them1 and capture them4 8,i made a calculation about the ,november meteors to see how close they must go to the path of ,uranus in order to be captured1 and found that they must approach nearly as close as the nearest satellite4 ,only those which came almost in contact with the planet could be captured4 ,now1 if they were shot out when ,uranus was in a sun-like condition1 then it would be explained1 whereas we find great difficulty in imagining that a comet coming out of space would be captured bodily by a planet like ,uranus4 ,let us consider the matter thus3 if comets are expelled from a planet1 they will be carried along with the forward motion4 ,if it could appear that some of them went backward1 then we would have no evidence of the theory ,i have been advancing4 ,if most of them travel forward1 then we would have some evidence for the theory4 ,now there is the curious fact that among the comets of short period the whole of ,jupiter's family travel forward4 ,they do not travel in all directions of slope2 all have a very moderate slope to the paths of the planets4 ,they do not have the slope even of the asteroids4 ,that is precisely what we notice--that they travel very much with ,jupiter4 ,taking the balance between the two theories--that of expulsion and that of capture--it seems to be in favor of the more startling one--that ,jupiter has had the power to expel these objects40 ,it is interesting1 in connection with this extract from the report of a lecture given by my father some fifty years ago at present time of writing 7#aibe71 to turn to a passage in the chapter on comets1 by ,dr4 ,a4 ,c4 ,d4 ,crommelin1 in the ,splendour of the ,heavens1 page #dad1 where he refers as follows to the capture theory3 8,the fact that the members of the ,jupiter family 7of comets7 have direct motion in all cases appears to give a fatal blow to the capture theory4 ,practically as many comets would approach the planet with retrograde motion as with direct2 there is1 indeed1 the point that those travelling in the same direction as the planet would remain longer in its neighbourhood1 and so have more time to be perturbed1 which would have some weight2 but that out of some fifty comets there is not a single retrograde one is too remarkable a fact to pass over1 and it clearly suggests that ,jupiter played a different part from that of a mere enslaver1 and was concerned with the origin of these bodies in a more intimate manner4 8,many of the considerations ,i have brought forward were stated by ,mr4 ,r4 ,a4 ,proctor some fifty years ago2 they have therefore been accessible to astronomers1 who nevertheless have been1 as a rule1 quite unaffected by them1 so that it is time to state them afresh4 ,the consideration that the life of a short-period comet is limited by the rapid wastage to which it is subject by the joint action of the sun and ,jupiter was not1 ,i think1 so fully realised1 when ,proctor wrote as it is now4 ,it serves further to invalidate the capture theory1 since it prevents our assigning to these bodies such extended lives as that theory demands40 ,according to my father's theory1 the giant planets are themselves the parents of their comet-families1 and he pictured their birth as having occurred in a remote past1 when the planets were more sun-like than they are to-day4 ,we have a great amount of evidence as to the energy of the processes that are at work on ,jupiter1 as evidenced1 for instance1 by the great ,red ,spot 7though some have hinted at the possibility of its being an early stage in the formation of a new satellite72 ,saturn1 ,uranus1 and ,neptune also indicate vast upheavals1 though distance in their case hinders observation1 and even on our own planet we have some striking instances of the power of volcanic energy1 as at the eruption of ,krakatoa in #ahhc4 ,sounds of the explosion were heard three thousand miles away1 and a huge volume of dust was blown to the highest regions of the atmosphere1 but we are entitled to expect much vaster convulsions in ,jupiter1 which outweighs the earth three hundred times and is in a much hotter state1 judging by the deep envelope of vapours surrounding it1 and the rapid changes that are constantly taking place in its appearance1 on an enormous scale1 as shown by the fine series of photographs which have been obtained of the planet with the giant telescopes4 ,writing in his magazine1 ,knowledge1 for ,january #a1 #ahhg1 page #fd1 my father states3 8,the theory of ejection was adopted as the only theory by which the chemical1 physical1 and microscopic structure of meteorites of all orders--from bolosiderites to asiderites--can be accounted for4 ,they were certainly once exposed to such conditions as exist only in the interior of large orbs--suns or planets4 ,and as certainly they have somehow come forth from such interiors4 ,the expulsive force shown by observation to reside in the only sun-like body we can examine1 indicates the only way in which such expulsion can conceivably have been effected4 ,hence1 ,i infer 7for my own part ,i feel assured of the weight of evidence7 that all orders of meteorites were expelled from some orbs at some time when such orbs were in the sun-like stage4 ,generalizing1 ,i include in this theory all orders of meteors1 and find all their most characteristic peculiarities explained1 and all orders of meteor systems or comets1 finding their several orders thus and thus only explicable 7if we include all suns now and in the past1 all planets in all solar systems1 in their past sun-like state1 among the sources of meteors and comets74 ,no other general theory seems to me possible40 ,again1 in an article in ,knowledge for ,april1 #ahhg1 page #ace1 my father makes the following statement regarding his theory concerning comets and meteors3 8,all comets and meteors are sun-born4 ,but it is not to our own sun1 nor to those other suns1 the stars1 that ,i attribute all comets and meteor systems4 ,many millions have come doubtless from our sun during the many millions of years he has been a sun1 though few of his cometic children are known to terrestrial astronomers4 ,millions of millions have come from the many millions of suns in our galaxy during the many millions of years of their sun-like existence4 ,but the giant planets were once suns1#aa and in their sun-like state1 which must have lasted millions of years1 they must have ejected their smaller comets and meteor systems which even now1 after millions of years1 have paths passing near the orbits of their parent orbs4 ,our earth and her fellow terrestrial planets had their sun-like stage of life1 too1 and it must have been while the earth was a sun that the meteors explained specially by ,tschermak's theory were expelled40 ,according to his theory1 ,tschermak1 noting the resemblance of structure between meteorites and volcanic products1 suggests that meteors of all orders 7which would include meteor streams1 and therefore comets7 were shot out from the earth in the days when she was young4 ,but though this is better than the other theories1 in at least suggesting some sort of an origin for comets and meteors1 it will not account for comets which do not approach within many millions of miles of the earth's orbit1#ab and a theory which fails for some among the comets cannot be the true general theory for meteors either4 ,mr4 ,sorby of ,sheffield1 the eminent mineralogist already referred to1 deduced from the microscopic structure of certain meteorites the startling theory that they had once been inside the sun2 for there is evidence that their substance once existed in the form of globules of molten metal1 which aggregated with large masses1 which in turn were exposed to violent friction1 indicating conflicting motions of very high velocities4 8,where else10 wrote ,sorby1 in #ahfd1 8could such conditions exist1 except first in the interior1 and afterwards in the immediate neighborhood of our sun60 ,but it is absolutely certain that the theory as thus suggested cannot possibly be true1 either as a general explanation of comets and meteors1 or even as an explanation of any known meteor system or comet1 unless1 perhaps1 a few of the comets whose orbits pass very near the sun were sun-born1 and subsequently disturbed by planetary attractions so as not to return to their parent orb4 ,according to my father's views on the subject3 8,a flight of meteors shot out from the sun1 as ,sorby suggested1 might have velocity enough to get away from him forever1 in which case we should never see a trace of it again1 even though we waited for millions of years4 ,if1 however1 it could not get away1 then it must return to its starting-place--that is1 back to the sun's globe--unless1 passing near enough to one of the giant planets1 it were so far disturbed as only to return by grazing past the sun's surface4 7,the comets of #ahdc1 #ahhj1 and #ahhb1 which all traveled in paths near the sun1 almost grazing his surface1 may well have been parts of a single meteor-flight shot out from his interior millions of years ago470 ,after the appearance of the new comet of #ahhg in the southern skies1 it was found to be following along the same track as the comets of #ahdc1 #ahhj1 and #ahhb1 thus confirming my father's theory that these comets were parts of one large comet1 dissipated1 doubtless1 some millions of years ago4 ,these comets were so bright when near the sun that they could be seen at noon with the naked eye4 ,as regards the heat experienced by the comet of #ahdc when near the sun1 ,sir ,john ,herschel remarked3 8,imagine a glare #be1jjj times fiercer than that of an equatorial sunshine at noonday4 ,in such a heat there is no solid substance we know of which would not run like water--boil--and be converted into smoke or vapor40 ,illustration3 ,from ,knowledge ,,the ,,southern ,,comet ,,of ,,january1 #ahhg ,in ,knowledge for ,november #a1 #ahhg1 an account is given of the remarkable southern comet first observed in ,january of that year1 and as it is the last article on this topic written by my father for his magazine1 giving a more or less detailed account of his views on the subject1 the author of this book has deemed it advisable to quote it in full4 ,it is of special interest1 not only on account of its giving his theories on the subject1 but for the reason that it helps to supply part of the missing chapter on 8,comets and ,meteors10 which he had planned for his final but unfortunately unfinished work1 ,old and ,new ,astronomy4 ,this work had been in course of preparation for thirty years1 and that the material for such a chapter was partially compiled the writer knows from the fact that she has a keen recollection of clippings1 ,,mss41 and notes which she saw apparently awaiting classification and arrangement1 a short while before her father's departure from ,florida1 ,september #h1 #ahhh4 ,what became of them after his sudden death in ,new ,york a few days later1 it is impossible to conjecture1 unless ,a4 ,c4 ,ranyard1 who completed the book1 found the chapter on comets too difficult to arrange satisfactorily4 ,yet even the fragments so arduously arranged and collected by my father would have been better than a missing chapter on a subject in which he was so deeply interested and to which he had devoted so much attention4 ,to return to my father's account of the comet of ,january1 #ahhg3 8,the comet was first seen by a farmer and a fisherman of ,blauwberg1 near ,cape ,town1 on the night of ,january #ah-ai4 ,the same night it was seen at the ,cordoba ,university by ,m4 ,thom4 ,on the next night ,mr4 ,todd discovered it independently at the ,adelaide ,observatory1 and watched it till the #bgth4 ,on the #bb;d ,mr4 ,finlay detected the comet and was able to watch it till the #bith4 ,at ,rio de ,janeiro1 ,mr4 ,cruls observed it from the #bc;d to the #beth1 and at ,windsor1 ,new ,south ,wales1 ,mr4 ,tebbutt observed the comet on the #bhth and #cjth4 ,moonlight interfered with further observations4 8,the comet's appearance was remarkable4 ,its tail1 long and straight1 extended over an arc of thirty degrees1 but there was no appreciable condensation which could be called the comet's head4 ,the long train of light1 described as nearly equal in brightness to the ,magellanic clouds1 seemed to be simply cut off at that end where in most comets a nucleus and coma are shown4 8,this comet has helped to throw light on one of the most perplexing of all the puzzles which those most perplexing of all the heavenly bodies1 comets1 have presented to astronomers4 ,in the year #affh1 a comet was seen in the southern skies which attracted very little notice at the time1 and would probably have been little thought of since had not attention been directed to it by the appearance and behavior of certain comets seen during the last half-century4 ,visible for about three weeks1 and discovered after it had already passed the point of its nearest approach to the sun1 the comet of #affh was not observed so satisfactorily that its orbit could be precisely determined4 ,in fact1 two entirely different orbits would satisfy the observations fairly1 though only one could be regarded as satisfying them well4 8,this orbit1 however1 was so remarkable that astronomers were led to prefer the other1 less satisfactory though it was1 in explaining the observed motions of the comet4 ,for the orbit which best explained the comet's movements carried the comet so close to the sun as actually to graze his visible surface4 ,moreover1 there was this remarkable and1 indeed1 absolutely unique peculiarity about the orbit thus assigned3 the comet 7whose period of revolution was to be measured by hundreds of years7 actually passed through the whole of that part of its course during which it was north of our earth's orbit plane in less than two hours and a half6 though this part of its course is a half-circuit around the sun1 so far as direction 7not distance of travel7 is concerned4 ,that comet1 when at its nearest to the sun1 was traveling at the rate of about #ccj miles per second4 ,it passed through regions near the sun's surface commonly supposed to be occupied by atmospheric matter4 8,now1 had the comet been so far checked in its swift rush through those regions as to lose one-thousandth part of its velocity1 it would have returned in less than a year4 ,but the way in which the comet retreated showed that nothing of this sort was to be expected4 ,i am not aware1 indeed1 that any anticipations were ever suggested in regard to the return of the comet of #affh to our neighborhood4 ,it was not till the time of ,halley's comet1 #afhb1 that modern astronomy began to consider the question of the possibly periodic character of cometic motions with attention4 7,for my own part1 ,i reject as altogether improbable the statement of ,seneca that the ancient ,chaldean astronomers could calculate the return of comets4 ,the comet of #afhj1 called ,newton's1 was the very first whose orbital motions were dealt with on the principles of ,newtonian astronomy1 and ,halley's was the first whose periodic character was recognized47 8,in #ahdc1 another comet came up from the south1 and presently returned thither4 ,it was1 indeed1 only seen during its return1 having1 like the comet of #affh1 been discovered only a day or two after perihelion passage4 ,astronomers soon began to notice a curious resemblance between the orbits of the two comets4 ,remembering the comparative roughness of the observations made in #affh1 it may be said that the two comets moved in the same orbit1 so far as could be judged from observation4 ,the comet of #ahdc came along a path inclined at apparently the same angle to the earth's orbit plane1 crossed that plane ascendingly at appreciably the same point1 swept round in about two hours and a half that part of its angular circuit which lay north of the earth's orbit plane1 and1 crossing that plane descendingly at the same point as the comet of #affh1 passed along appreciably the same course towards the southern stellar regions6 ,the close resemblance of two paths1 each so strikingly remarkable in itself1 could not well be regarded as a mere accidental coincidence4 8,however1 at that time no very special attention was directed to the resemblance between the paths of the comets of #ahdc and #affh4 ,it was not regarded as anything very new or striking that a comet should return after making a wide excursion round the sun2 and those who noticed that the two comets really had traversed appreciably the same path around the immediate neighborhood of the sun1 simply concluded that the comet of #affh had come back in #ahdc1 after #age years1 and not necessarily for the first time4 8,it must be noticed1 however1 before leaving this part of the record1 that the comet of #ahdc was suspected of behaving in a rather strange way when near the sun4 ,for the first observation1 made rather roughly1 indeed1 with a sextant1 by a man who had no idea of the interest his observations might afterwards have1 could not be reconciled by mathematicians 7including the well-known mathematician1 ,benjamin ,pierce7 with the movement of the comet as subsequently observed4 ,it seemed as though when in the sun's neighborhood the comet had undergone some disturbance1 possibly internal1 which had in slight degree affected its subsequent career4 8,according to some calculations the comet of #ahdc seemed to have a period of about thirty-five years1 which accorded well with the idea that it was the comet of #affh1 returned after five circuits4 ,nor was it deemed at all surprising that the comet1 conspicuous though it is1 had not been detected in #agac1 #agdh1 #aghc1 and #ahah1 for its path would carry it where it would be very apt to escape notice except in the southern hemisphere1 and even there it might quite readily be missed4 ,the appearance of the comet of #affh corresponded well with that of the comet of #ahdc4 ,each was remarkable for its long tail and for the comparative insignificance of its head4 ,in the northern skies1 indeed1 the comet of #ahdc showed a very straight tail1 and it is usually depicted in that way1 whereas the comet of #affh had a tail showing curvature4 ,but pictures of the comet of #ahdc1 as seen in the southern hemisphere1 show it with a curved tail1 and also the tail appeared forked toward the end1 during that part of the comet's career4 ,however1 the best observations1 and the calculations based on them1 seemed to show that the period of the comet of #ahdc could not be less than #ejj years4 8,astronomers were rather startled1 therefore1 when1 in #ahhj1 a comet appeared in the southern skies which traversed appreciably the same course as the comets of #affh and #ahdc4 ,when ,i was in ,australia in #ahhj1 a few months after the great comet had passed out of view1 ,i met several persons who had seen both the comet of that year and the comet of #ahdc4 ,they all agreed in saying that the resemblance between the two comets was very close4 ,like the comet of #ahdc1 that of #ahhj had a singularly long tail1 and both comets were remarkable for the smallness and dimness of their heads4 ,one observer told me that at times the head of the comet could barely be discerned4 8,like the comets of #affh and #ahdc1 the comet of #ahhj grazed close past the sun's surface4 ,like them it was but about two hours and a half north of the earth's orbit plane4 ,had it only resembled the other two in these remarkable characteristics1 the coincidence would have been remarkable4 ,but of course the real evidence by which the association between the comets was shown was of a more decisive kind4 ,it was not in general character only1 but in details that the path of the comet of #ahhj resembled those on which the other two comets had traveled4 ,its path had almost exactly the same slant to the earth's orbit plane as theirs1 crossed that plane ascendingly and descendingly at almost exactly the same points1 and made its nearest approach to the sun at very nearly the same place4 8,to the astronomer such evidence is decisive4 ,mr4 ,hind1 the superintendent of the ,nautical ,almanac1 and as sound and cautious a student of cometic astronomy as any man living1 remarked1 so soon as the resemblance of these comets' paths had been ascertained1 that if it were merely accidental the case was most unusual2 nay1 it might be described as unique4 ,and1 be it noticed1 he was referring only to the resemblance between the comets of #ahhj and #ahdc4 ,had he recalled at the time the comet of #affh1 and its closely similar orbit1 he would have admitted that the double coincidence could not possibly be merely casual4 8,but this was by no means the end of the matter4 ,indeed1 thus far1 although the circumstances were striking1 there was nothing to prevent astronomers from interpreting them as other cases of coincident1 or nearly coincident1 comet paths1 had been interpreted4 ,hind and others1 myself included1 inferred that the comets of #ahhj1 #ahdc1 and #affh were simply one and the same comet1 whose return in #ahhj probably followed the return in #ahdc after a single revolution4 8,in #ahhb1 however1 two years and a half after the appearance of the comet of #ahhj1 another comet came up from the south1 which followed in the sun's neighborhood almost the same course as the comets of #affh1 #ahdc1 and #ahhj4 ,the path it followed was not quite so close to those followed by the other three as these had been to each other1 but yet was far too close to indicate possibly a mere casual resemblance2 on the contrary1 the resemblance in regard to shape1 slope1 and those peculiarities which render this family of comets unique in the cometary system1 was of the closest and most startling kind4 8,many will remember the startling ideas which were suggested by ,professor ,piazzi ,smyth respecting the portentous significance of the comet of #ahhb4 ,he regarded it as confirming the great pyramid's teaching 7according to the views of orthodox pyramidalists7 respecting the approaching end of the ,christian dispensation4 ,it was seen under very remarkable circumstances1 blazing close by the sun1 within a fortnight or three weeks of the precise date which had been announced as marking that critical epoch in the history of the earth4 8,moreover1 even viewing the matter from a scientific standpoint1 ,professor ,smyth 7who1 outside his pyramidal paradoxes1 is an astronomer of well-deserved repute7 could recognize sufficient reason for regarding the comet as portentous4 ,many others1 indeed1 both in ,america and in ,europe1 shared his opinion in this respect4 ,a very slight retardation of the course of the comet of #ahhj1 during its passage close to the surface of the sun1 would have sufficed to alter its period of revolution from the thirty-seven years assigned on the supposition of its identity with the comet of #ahdc1 to the two and a half years indicated by its apparent return in #ahhb1 and if this had occurred in #ahhj1 a similar interruption in #ahhb would have caused its return in less than two and a half years4 8,thus1 circling in an ever-narrowing 7or rather shortening7 orbit1 it would presently1 within a quarter of a century or so1 perhaps1 have become so far entangled among the atmospheric matter around the sun1 that it would have been unable to resist absolute absorption4 ,what the consequences to the solar system might have been none ventured to suggest4 ,newton had expressed his belief that the effect of such absorption would be disastrous1 but the physicists of the nineteenth century1 better acquainted with the laws associating heat and motion1 were not so despondent4 ,only ,professor ,smyth seems to have felt assured 7not being despondent but confident7 that the comet portended1 in a very decisive way1 the beginning of the end4 8,however1 we were all mistaken4 ,the comet of #ahhb retreated on such a course1 and with such variation of velocity as to show that its real period must be measured not by months1 as had been supposed1 nor even by years1 but by centuries4 ,probably it will not return till #fjj or #gjj years have passed4 ,had this not been proved1 we might have been not a little perplexed by the return of apparently the same comet in this present year 7#ahhg74 ,a comet was discovered in the south early in ,january1 whose course1 dealt with by ,professor ,kruger1 one of the most zealous of our comet calculators1 is found to be partially identical with that of the four remarkable comets we have been considering4 ,astronomers have not been moved by this new visitant on the well-worn track1 as we were by the arrival of the comet of #ahhb1 or as we should have been if either the comet of #ahhb had never been seen1 or its path had not been shown to be so wide ranging4 ,whatever the comet of the present year may be1 it was not the comet of #ahhb returned4 ,no one even supposes that it was the comet of #ahhj1 or #ahdc1 or #affh4 ,nevertheless1 rightly apprehended1 the appearance of a comet traveling on appreciably the same track as those four other comets is of extreme interest1 and indeed practically decisive as to the interpretation we must place on these repeated coincidences4 8,observe1 we are absolutely certain that the five comets are associated together in some way2 but we are as absolutely certain that they are not one and the same comet which had traveled along the same track and returned after a certain number of circuits4 ,we need not trouble ourselves with the question whether two or more of the comets may not have been in reality one and the same body at different returns4 ,it suffices that they all five were not one2 since we deduce precisely the same conclusion whether we regard the five as in reality but four or three or two4 ,but it may be mentioned1 in passing1 as appearing altogether more probable1 when all the evidence is considered1 that there were no fewer than five distinct comets1 all traveling on what was practically the selfsame track when in the neighborhood of the sun4 8,there can be but one interpretation of this remarkable fact--a fact really proved1 be it noticed 7as ,i and others have maintained since the retreat of the comet of #ahhb71 independently of the evidence supplied by the great southern comet of the present year4 ,these comets must all originally have been one comet1 though now they are distinct bodies4 ,for there is no reasonable way 7indeed no possible way7 of imagining the separate formation of two or more comets at different times1 which should thereafter travel in the same path4 8,no theory of the origin of comets ever suggested1 none even which can be imagined1 could account for such a peculiarity4 ,whereas1 on the other hand1 we have direct evidence showing how a comet1 originally single1 may be transformed into two or more comets traveling on the same1 or nearly the same1 track4 8,the comet called ,biela's1 which had circuited as a single comet up to the year #ahdf 7during a period of unknown duration in the past--probably during millions of years71 divided then into two1 and has since broken up into so many parts that each cometic fragment is separately indiscernible4 ,the two comets into which ,biela's divided1 in #ahdf1 were watched long enough to show that1 had their separate existence continued 7visibly71 they would have been found1 in the fullness of time1 traveling at distances very far apart1 though on nearly the same orbit4 ,the distance between them1 which in #ahdf had increased only to about a quarter of a million of miles1 had in #aheb increased to five times that space4 8,probably a few thousand years would have sufficed to set these comets so far apart 7owing to some slight difference of velocity1 initiated at the moment of their separation7 that when one would have been at its nearest to the sun1 the other would have been at its farthest from him4 ,if we could now discern the separate fragments of the comet1 we should doubtless recognize a process in progress by which1 in the course of many centuries1 the separate cometic bodies will be disseminated all round the common orbit4 ,we know1 further1 that already such a process has been at work on portions removed from the comet many centuries ago1 for as our earth passes through the track of this comet she encounters millions of meteoric bodies which are traveling in the comet's orbit1 and once formed part of the substance of a comet doubtless much more distinguished in appearance than ,biela's4 8,there can be little doubt that this is the true explanation of the origin of that family of comets1 five of whose members returned to the neighborhood of the sun 7possibly their parent7 in the years #affh1 #ahdc1 #ahhj1 #ahhb1 and #ahhg4 ,but it is not merely as thus explaining what had been a most perplexing problem that ,i have dealt with the evidence supplied by the practical identity of the orbits of these five comets4 ,when once we recognize that this1 and this only1 can be the explanation of the associated group of five comets1 we perceive that very interesting and important light has been thrown on the subject of comets generally4 8,to begin with1 what an amazing comet that must have been from which these five1 and we know not how many more1 were formed by disaggregative processes--probably by the divellent action of repulsive forces exerted by the sun6 ,those who remember the comets of #ahdc and #ahhb as they appeared when at their full splendor will be able to imagine how noble an appearance a comet would present which was formed of these combined together in one4 ,but the comet of #ahhj was described by all who saw it in the southern hemisphere as most remarkable in appearance1 despite the faintness of its head4 ,the great southern comet of the present year 7#ahhg7 was a striking object in the skies1 though it showed the same weakness about the head4 ,that of #affh was probably as remarkable in appearance as even the comet of #ahhb4 ,a comet formed by combining all these together would certainly surpass in magnificence all the comets ever observed by astronomers4 8,and then1 what enormous periods of time must have been required to distribute the fragments of a single comet so widely that one would be found returning to its perihelion more than two centuries after another6 ,when ,i spoke of one member of the ,biela group being in aphelion1 when another would be in perihelion1 ,i was speaking of a difference of only three and one-third years in time2 and even that would require thousands of years4 ,but the scattered cometic bodies which returned to the sun's neighborhood in #affh and #ahhg speak probably of millions of years which have passed since first this comet was formed4 ,it would be a matter of curious inquiry to determine what may have been the condition of our sun1 what even his volume1 at that remote period in history40 ,in view of our present knowledge of the status of the sun as a comparative dwarf in the stellar system1 may it not have been a giant star at that remote period of its existence above referred to1 rivaling in volume the giant star ,betelgeuse with its diameter exceeding two hundred million miles4#ac ,at that period of the evolution of the sun1 how terrific must have been the force of the upheavals which rent its surface1 flinging forth cometic material with incalculable speed1 to distances far exceeding any known in connection with the comets with which we are familiar4 ,regarding the solar origin of comets1 ,dr4 ,a4 ,c4 ,d4 ,crommelin writes as follows in ,splendour of the ,heavens1 page #djg3 8,when we note that the orbit of the great comet of #ahhb almost grazes the sun's surface1 there is a natural tendency to attribute a solar origin to it4 ,we know from the phenomena of the solar prominences that the sun is continually erupting torrents of matter with very high speeds2 a speed of #bgj miles per second would suffice to send the matter round the sun in a circular orbit2 if it rose to #chb miles per second the orbit would be parabolic2 while for any intermediate speed it would be elliptic4 ,by combining the observed speed of ascent of the prominence matter with the speed of approach or recession that is indicated by the shift of the lines in the spectrum1 we conclude that speeds of this order are quite common1 so that no difficulty arises on that account4 ,i feel rather more difficulty from the consideration that the meteoric masses that compose a comet's head could not exist in the sun in a solid state2 the heat would suffice to vaporize them4 ,the materials would solidify in the cold of space1 but as they would be under no pressure1 ,i imagine that the resulting solid particles would be microscopically small1 not of the size required to form reservoirs for a large amount of gas4 ,all objects ejected by the sun would move in orbits that intersect the sun1 except in so far as their orbits are modified by planetary action4 ,this latter might readily be large enough to change the orbit to one just outside the sun 7like those of the sun-grazing comets of #afhj1 #ahdc1 #ahhb1 etc474 ,however1 the great majority of known comets have orbits whose least distance from the sun is so large that we cannot imagine an origin for these by simple solar eruption4 8,the question arises1 ,can the comets have existed for so long a period in view of the wastage that they undergo8 ,according to the geologists the date of the approach of another sun to ours 7as suggested in the planetesimal hypothesis7 must be put at least a thousand million years ago2 in such an interval1 even the comets of longest period would have returned thousands of times1 and ,i gravely doubt whether they could continue to be such compact bodies as they appear to be2 ,i frankly admit that ,i have no plausible suggestion to offer for evading the difficulty2 it is one of the numerous cases in astronomy 7the status of the spiral nebul is another7 in which we must be content for the present to record observed facts and suggested interpretations1 leaving full understanding to come at a later date1 if at all40 ,according to the same authority1 in connection with his views on the subject1 as expressed after reading the ,,mss4 prepared for this chapter1 he writes1 as follows3 8,i have noted a paper by ,a4 ,a4 ,newton 7see ,observatory for #ahid1 page #bej71 in which he says1 that out of #a1jjj million comets approaching the sun1 #abf comets will have periods reduced to #f years1 #hci to #ab years1 #a1gja to #ah years1 and #b1fgj to #bd years4 ,further1 of the #hci no less than #bjc1 or a quarter of the whole1 will have retrograde orbits after perturbation4 ,i think these results go very strongly against the capture hypothesis4 ,there would only be one short-period comet in something like #b million years2 whereas the experience of ,biela's1 ,brorsen's 7and perhaps also ,tempel #a and ,holmes71 suggests that several of them have become extinct in a century1 so an equal number of new ones is required to keep up the supply4 ,it is a matter of surprise to me that the difficulty is not more generally recognized40 ,the following brief abstract1 condensed from an article written by ,professor ,w4 ,w4 ,payne1 for ,popular ,astronomy1 ,april1 #aijf1 page #bba1 regarding 8,jupiter's ,family of ,comets10 with accompanying chart1 may be of interest in connection with the matter under discussion in this chapter3 8,this notable family of comets is more and more of a wonder1 the further its study is pursued4 ,it is remarkable on account of its size1 and--if the capture theory be correct--of the power of ,jupiter to capture comets and make them members of his family1 if they1 in their wild flights through space1 happen to come too near to him as they sometimes do in certain parts of his orbital path around the sun4 ,but a close study of the chart showing the paths of ,jupiter's family of comets would seem to indicate that nearly all the farthest points of the comet's orbits from the sun are on one side of ,jupiter's orbit4 ,these points are marked by short cross lines4 ,now if ,jupiter obtained his family by capture1 why should he be more successful on one side of the orbit than the other8 ,moreover1 the motions of all these bodies about the sun1 and about ,jupiter1 are direct1 that is1 contrary to those of the hands of a watch4 ,does not this fact of the comets traveling in the same direction1 point to the supposition that they were originally ejected from the planet rather than that they were captured by ,jupiter80 ,,chapter ,,eight ,,meteor ,,streams ,whence come these uncounted millions of bodies1 rushing through space with inconceivable velocity8 ,what purpose do they fulfill in the economy of the solar system8 ,are they the chips in the great workshop of ,nature1 the sparks which have flown from the mighty grindstone1 the shreds of clay which the giant potters1 ,attraction and ,repulsion1 have cast aside as useless8 --,r4 ,a4 ,,proctor4 ,so far1 we have traced the story of comets and meteors1 and theories concerning their origin1 but there still remains the fascinating chapter regarding those meteor streams which cross the earth's path in uncounted thousands and at regular intervals4 ,for instance there are the great ,november showers unsurpassed by any1 except perhaps the ,august meteor system4 ,from recent investigations it has been shown that the independent particles of which these systems are composed form part of a great throng moving in orderly paths around the sun4 ,they have proved their right to a place in the 8obedient family0 which ,copernicus recognized as forming the solar system4 ,in those days meteors were regarded as a species of exhalation from the earth and consumed during some processes of change in the upper regions of the atmosphere4 ,later on1 they had attained to the rank of volcanic missiles ejected from the moon1 and ascending still higher they were said to be stones falling from the sky1 not only on land1 but 8in the great sea1 where they remained concealed40 ,it was not until the impressive meteoric shower of #ahcc that suspicions were aroused concerning a connection between these apparently erratic wanderers in the sky and comets4 ,when ,professors ,twining and ,olmsted of ,new ,haven1 ,u4 ,s4 ,a41 observed that the paths of all the meteors during the ,november shower of #ahcc could be traced back to what is termed a 8radiant10 and ,olmsted went so far as to call the densest part of the swarm a 8comet10 these objects attained a new interest in the astronomical world4 ,olmsted and ,twining were the first to show that the meteors are not terrestrial and atmospheric1 but bodies truly cosmical4 ,could ,kepler and ,copernicus have revisited the former scene of their labors and listened to the discussions concerning the theories advanced in connection with comets and meteors during the latter part of the nineteenth century1 they would scarcely have recognized the scheme of the solar system thus unfolded to their view6 ,not only has the claim of meteorites to membership in that system been firmly established1 but the definite seasons for their appearance1 and the well-known orbits along which certain meteor streams travel1 can now be confidently predicted by astronomers4 ,it is true1 unfortunate circumstances may cause delay1 as in the case of the failure of the expected return of the ,november meteor-shower in #ahii1 ,november #ad-ae1 but this was undoubtedly due to the disturbing influence of ,jupiter and ,saturn4 ,however1 there could be no delay and consequent disappointment at the return of this meteor swarm in #ahcc1 which was not only totally unexpected1 but furnished a scene of such splendor that words fail to convey an idea of its impressive character4 ,we are told1 by those who were so fortunate as to witness it1 that the meteors fell as thickly as snowflakes4 ,my father used to relate the following story regarding one of the planters of ,south ,carolina who gave a most impressive account of the consternation caused among the negroes on this occasion4 ,to quote the words of the planter3 8,i was suddenly awakened by the most distressing cries that ever fell on my ears4 ,shrieks of horror and cries for mercy ,i could hear from most of the negroes of the three plantations1 amounting in all to about six or eight hundred4 ,while earnestly listening for the cause1 ,i heard a faint voice near the door calling my name4 ,i arose and1 taking my sword1 stood at the door4 8,at this moment ,i heard the same voice still beseeching me to rise1 assuring me that the world was on fire4 ,i then opened the door1 and it is difficult to say which excited me the most1 the awfulness of the scene or the distressed cries of the negroes4 ,upward of a hundred lay prostrate on the ground1 some speechless and some giving utterance to the bitterest cries4 ,with hands upraised1 they implored ,god to save the world and them4 ,the scene was truly awful1 for never did rain fall much thicker than the meteors fell towards the earth--east1 west1 north and south1 it was the same40 ,renewed interest was taken in the subject as the year #ahff drew near1 for ,professor ,newton of ,new ,haven1 ,u4 ,s4 ,a41 had found1 after a careful examination of records in #ahfd1 that there had been a number of great autumnal meteoric star-showers separated by periods of about thirty-three years4 ,as a result of his investigations1 he predicted that a shower would occur in #ahff1 and conjectured that the path along which the meteor stream would travel might have one of five different orbits2 one with a period of thirty-three and a quarter years1 two with periods of one year plus or minus eleven days1 and two with periods of half a year plus or minus five and a half days4 ,professor ,john ,couch ,adams1 with the same patience and accuracy which had enabled him to discover the planet ,neptune1 concentrated all his efforts in tracing by means of the most laborious calculations the disturbing effects of the planets upon the ,november meteor stream in connection with each of the five orbits suggested by ,newton4 ,he came to the conclusion that the true orbit must be the largest1 viz41 the one having a period of thirty-three and a quarter years4 ,accordingly1 he confirmed the prediction that the meteoric shower was due to return in #ahff1 and not only was that prediction confirmed1 but the meteor stream was seen again in #ahfg1 the procession stretching out along the orbit for such a distance that it required three years to pass a given point4 ,unfortunately1 as far as ,professor ,newton and his fellow-countrymen in ,america were concerned1 they were unable to witness the wonderful display1 for on this occasion it favored our side of the world4 ,in other words1 the encounter between the earth and the dense part of the meteor stream which had caused such a spectacular display in #ahcc1 preceded the time predicted for it only by the brief interval separating the successive passages of ,england and ,america across a given rotation space4 8,if we imagine that from some distant orb1 a being were watching the event1 knowing the nature of ,newton's prediction and uncertain as to the result1 then this being would have seen the meteor swarm rushing onwards to the scene of encounter on the one part1 and the earth sweeping towards the same point on the other4 ,he could see that all over ,europe and the western parts of ,asia1 and in a less degree over the foreshortened ,atlantic1 the meteors were already falling1 the display would grow richer and richer1 but after a while it would diminish in splendor4 ,finally1 just as ,america began to show on the exposed hemisphere1 the encounter would come to an end1 the earth passing onwards to the relatively barren portions lying beyond the meteor orbit40 7,r4 ,a4 ,proctor1 ,the ,orbs ,around ,us1 pp4 #ahj-aha47 ,such was the occurrence which astonished the world on the nights of ,november #ac-ad1 #ahff1 according to ,sir ,robert ,ball's experience1 which he has portrayed in such vivid language in ,the ,story of the ,heavens3 8,the night was fine2 the moon was absent4 ,the meteors were distinguished not only by their enormous multitude1 but by their intrinsic magnificence4 ,i shall never forget that night4 ,on the memorable evening1 ,i was engaged in my usual duty at that time of observing nebul with ,lord ,rosse's great reflecting telescope4 ,i was of course aware that a shower of meteors had been predicted1 but nothing that ,i had heard prepared me for the splendid spectacle so soon to be unfolded4 ,it was about ten o'clock at night when an exclamation from an attendant by my side made me look up from the telescope1 just in time to see a fine meteor dash across the sky4 ,it was presently followed by another1 and then again by others in twos and in threes1 which showed that the prediction of a great shower was likely to be verified4 8,at this time1 the ,earl of ,rosse 7then ,lord ,oxmantown7 joined me at the telescope1 and after a brief interval we decided to cease our observations of the nebul and ascend to the top of the wall of the great telescope1 from whence a clear view of the whole hemisphere of the heavens could be obtained4 ,there1 for the next three or four hours1 we witnessed a spectacle which can never fade from my memory4 ,the shooting stars gradually increased in number until sometimes several were seen at once4 ,sometimes they swept over our heads1 sometimes to the right1 sometimes to the left1 but they all diverged from the east4 ,all the tracks of the meteors radiated from ,leo4 8,sometimes a meteor appeared to come almost directly towards us1 and then its path was so foreshortened that it had hardly any appreciable length1 and looked like an ordinary fixed star swelling into brilliancy and then as rapidly vanishing4 ,occasionally luminous trains would linger on for many minutes after the meteor had flashed across1 but the great majority of the trains in this shower were evanescent4 ,it would be impossible to say how many thousands of meteors were seen1 each one of which was bright enough to have elicited a note of admiration on any ordinary night40 ,soon after the remarkable display of meteors in #ahff1 ,schiaparelli of ,milan1 whose interest had been aroused by the researches of ,newton and ,adams1 published a paper upon the ,perseids1 or ,august meteors1 in which he drew attention to the fact that they were moving in the same path as that of the bright comet of #ahfb1 known as ,tuttle's comet4 ,shortly after this ,leverrier published his orbit of the ,leonid meteors derived from the observed position of the radiant 7within the sickle-shaped group of stars in ,leo71 in connection with the periodic time assigned by ,adams2 and almost simultaneously1 but without any idea of a connection between them1 ,oppolzer published his orbit of ,tempel's comet of #ahff1 and the two orbits were at once seen to be practically identical4 ,now a single case of such a coincidence as that pointed out by ,schiaparelli might possibly be accidental1 but hardly two4 ,then five years later in #ahgb came the meteoric shower of the ,bielids1 the disintegrated particles following in the track of ,biela's comet1 and since then scores of meteor streams have been apparently detected with 8a comet annexed10 firmly establishing the theory regarding the connection between comets and meteor streams as a well-proved fact4 ,the longer a comet has been in the solar system1 the more widely scattered will be its accompanying meteor stream4 ,according to this theory1 the ,perseids which are scattered more or less uniformly along their orbit of enormous extent ranging far beyond the orbit of the outermost planet ,neptune1 are undoubtedly old inhabitants of the solar system4 ,the ,leonids1 on the contrary1 are comparatively newcomers introduced into the solar system 7according to the calculations of ,leverrier1 and admitting the capture theory1 though the ejection theory is far more plausible71 in ,a4,d4 #abf1 when ,tempel's comet1 of which they formed part1 passed very near ,uranus4 ,since the mystery regarding these celestial wanderers has been cleared1 it might almost seem as if every comet of distinction had its own special host of meteoric attendants following closely in its wake1 their number constantly increased by the addition of discarded fragments forming the train of the comet at each visit paid by it to the sun4 ,the following is a list compiled by ,mr4 ,w4 ,f4 ,denning of the chief meteoric displays of the year4 ,name of ,date of ,radiant ,appearance of meteors shower maximum point ,r4,a4 ,dcl4 ,quadrantids ,january #c #bcj #eb,slowish1 long paths ,lyrids ,april #ba #bgj #cc,swift1 streaks ,aquarids ,may #b-f #cch #b,swift1 very long paths ,draconids ,june #bh #bbh #ed,very slow1 short paths ,aquarids ,july #bh-cj #cci #abj,slow1 long paths ,capricornids,july #be-;,august #d #cjc #aj,very slow1 brilliant1 long ,perseids ,august #aa #de #eg,swift1 streaks ,orionids ,october #ai #ib #ae,swift1 streaks ,leonids ,november #ad-ae #aea #bc,very swift1 streaks ,andromedids ,november #ag-bg #be #dd,very slow1 short1 trained ,geminids ,december #aa-ab #aaj #cc,swift1 white1 short paths ,the ,lyrids are connected with ,comet #ahfa ,i1 having a period of about #dae years4 ,the ,perseids are connected with ,comet #ahfb ,,iii1 having a period of about #abj years4 ,the ,leonids are connected with ,comet #ahff ,i1 having a period of #cc years4 ,the ,bielids1 or ,andromedids1 are connected with ,biela's comet1 and have a period of #f years4 ,we are now aware of meteor streams which at certain stated intervals1 cross the earth's orbit4 ,they are regular visitors for which we may watch with every certainty that a few1 if not thousands1 will be captured by too near an approach to the atmospheric net encircling our planet4 ,the whole of the solar domain may be alive with meteors1 but by no possibility can we become aware of their presence until they take the fatal plunge which ultimately causes their destruction4 ,the space actually traversed by the earth in its journey around the sun1 is but the minutest fraction of that vast sphere over which the sun holds sway1 8yet it has been estimated by ,professor ,newcomb of ,america1 on grounds which are perfectly reliable1 that in including telescopic meteors 7that is1 meteors so small as only to be visible when they happen to pass across the field of view of a telescope71 no less than #adf1jjj millions of meteoric bodies fall each year upon the earth4 ,if one in a thousand struck a human being the inhabitants of the earth would be decimated in a single year40 7,r4 ,a4 ,proctor1 ,the ,expanse of ,heaven1 p4 #afd47 ,fortunately for us1 the earth is protected by the surrounding air1 which offers a most effective resistance to the swift motion of the celestial missiles with which it is bombarded from above4 ,the swifter their motion1 the more effective the resistance4 ,when meteors are first seen they are mostly at a height of seventy miles1 vanishing at a height of about fifty miles4 ,but the actual course they pursue through the air is nearly always much longer1 because they do not descend vertically1 but aslant4 ,mr4 ,denning remarks1 in his account of meteors for ,splendour of the ,heavens1 8there are comparatively few astronomers1 either professional or amateur1 who cultivate the meteoric branch4 ,they evidently do not regard it as an attractive study4 ,in any case1 it does not appeal to them sufficiently to enlist their sympathies1 and so it has been comparatively neglected in recent years4 ,a few ardent observers have1 it is true1 continued to devote themselves to the subject10 and he cites instances where two ,english ladies1 ,miss ,a4 ,grace ,cook1 director of the ,meteoric ,section of the ,b4 ,a4 ,a41 in #aibb1 and the late ,mrs4 ,fiammetta ,wilson1 endeavored to arouse more enthusiasm in this field of work by both practical example and advice4 ,as an instance of the splendid enthusiasm of the latter1 she has to her credit for meteoric observations carried on during an interval of ten years1 the record of about ten thousand meteors4 ,this is an average of a thousand a year1 and anyone who has attempted to keep a steady watch on a starlit night in the hope of observing an evanescent meteor will realize what such a record means4 ,it must have required an immense amount of patience1 endurance1 and untiring vigilance1 for the wily meteor is so apt to take us unawares4 ,the writer has had but one experience of the kind1 and it was upon the occasion of the expected display of ,leonids in #ahii4 ,the night was extremely cold1 as one might expect during the month of ,november1 when with two friends1 ,miss ,harpham and ,miss ,tarbox1 ,i stationed myself on the roof of an apartment house in ,new ,york ,city1 on ,november #ae1 at #ab4ee4 ,the record of our observations1 which were continued until #f4jj ,a4,m4 at the hour of dawn1 was afterward printed in ,popular ,astronomy1 ,vol4 ,,ix1 #aija1 pp4 #hb-hc4 ,during that time we observed sixty-eight meteors1 of which1 as the account shows1 a few were intruders4 ,never was dawn so welcome to the weary observers1 who were not nearly so much chilled by the ,november weather1 as by the disappointment at the meager display4 ,possibly the bright moonlight in the earlier part of the watch had dimmed the splendor of many of the ,leonids1 but where were the tens of thousands which were said to have fallen in #ahcc1 or even the thousands which were observed in #ahff1 for not even one hundred rewarded us for our vigil in #ahii8 ,however1 we were told to watch again the following year1 when possibly we might meet with better luck1 but our record as given in ,popular ,astronomy1 ,vol4 ,,ix1 #aija1 shows that only forty-four meteors were seen between midnight and dawn1 and of these1 seven were intruders4 ,the cause of the failure of the return of the ,leonids in #ahii was due to the fact that the planet ,jupiter had so much disturbed the orbit of the meteor group of #ahff1 that from calculations made it was estimated that it would pass about two millions of miles outside of the earth's orbit1 and thus escape collision with our atmosphere4 ,for this reason1 few meteors were seen in #ahii and #aijj1 though in #aija and #aijc pretty brisk showers of ,leonids were visible1 though they were nothing like the magnificent displays of #agii1 #ahcc1 and #ahff4 ,a new shower derived from ,pons-,winnecke's periodical comet was witnessed from ,bristol on ,june #bh1 #aiaf4 ,a very brilliant and abundant return of this display may occur during the last week of ,june1 #aibg1 when the earth and comet will be exceedingly near each other4 ,the following suggestions may be helpful to those who may feel inclined to make a hobby of recording meteors which are far more plentiful 7quite a number making their appearance on any clear night7 than comets1 which are1 comparatively speaking1 rare visitors4 ,practically no appliances of any kind are required4 ,the main essential is a knowledge of the various constellations and of the stars visible to the naked eye1 a knowledge soon acquired by a study of some good atlas of the heavens1 such as my father's ,half ,hours with the ,stars4 ,this contains twelve charts1 one for each month of the year1 with accompanying letter press4 ,a beginner generally finds great difficulty in locating the beginning and ending of the course of a meteor1 as these seldom occur close to any well-known star4 ,it will always be found useful to have a straight rod about four feet long4 ,this should be held up so that it seems to lie along the path of the meteor4 ,a rapid glance along the rod1 backward and forward1 will generally be sufficient to enable one to detect some stars within the radius of a circle4 ,the beginning and ending of the trail of the meteors can then be recorded1 as the eye easily estimates the length of the arc between various points of the heavens4 ,in this way one records the observation made--let us say1 at #d4ci1 for ,november #ae1 #ahii4 ,the direction followed by the meteor was from the radiant toward ,castor and ,pollux1 the streak remaining visible for three seconds4 ,the meteor was very bright1 meaning that it equaled a first-magnitude star1 and the train was #e in length4 ,though the color was not recorded at the time1 yet it is possible to make a very sure guess1 that it was blue1 the usual color of ,leonids4 ,it is not advisable to look for meteors very far from the radiant1 as that is the main point from which they are seen to emanate4 ,therefore1 it will be sufficient to confine the attention to a region within #cj to #dj from the radiant4 ,meteors appearing near the radiant have short trains1 while those at a greater distance have generally longer trains4 ,when a meteor is observed1 the time1 magnitude1 beginning and ending of course1 duration of flight1 and any special characteristics should be recorded as quickly as possible1 using a system of abbreviations4 ,possibly the writer1 at the next display which is expected in #aicc1 may be prepared--with the assistance of a few enthusiasts--to carry out this elaborate program1 but it is impossible for one or even three to make an accurate record of so many happenings regarding a meteor which may have remained on view but a second or so4 ,in judging the time of flight a stop-watch is very useful1 but in the case of slow meteors it is easy to estimate the time approximately by counting at a certain rate1 say #ahj to the minute4 ,the writer was told to recite a nursery rhyme at a certain pace1 such as hickory-dickory-dock1 and note the syllable or word uttered at disappearance of meteor1 but in the case of the ,leonids the word 8hickory0 had scarcely been uttered before the ,leonid had vanished1 so that the simpler method of counting 8one1 two1 three10 was adopted1 proving entirely satisfactory1 when we remembered to count6 ,it might be a good idea1 before making the observations1 to mark off on the rod1 with luminous paint or radium1 such as is used with watches1 #c1 the distance between the three stars in the belt of ,orion2 #e1 the distance between the pointers in ,ursa ,major2 #aj1 the distance from ,alpha to ,delta in the same group of stars2 #ae from ,delta through ,alpha2 and #bf from ,alpha to ,eta1 at the extremity of the ,bear's tail1 or the ,dipper handle1 according to the popular nomenclature used in ,america1 where the seven stars of the ,plough1 or ,charles's ,wain1 are usually referred to as the ,great ,dipper4 ,special attention should be given in recording very bright meteors or fireballs4 ,in many cases fireballs may be seen by other persons1 and the data supplied by any two observers situated at different places4 ,their combined observations are sufficient to determine the real path1 radiant1 etc41 of the celestial object4 ,we have a fine illustration of this in the drift of a meteor trail which was observed by ,mr4 ,denning at #g4cc ,p4,m4 on ,february #bb1 #aiji1 passing in a southwest direction over the northern coast of ,france4 ,the luminous trail left in its wake persisted as a visible object for over two hours1 during which time it drifted in a northwest direction at #abj miles an hour1 under the influence of a violent wind in the upper atmosphere4 ,as usual on every clear starlit night there are a number of enthusiastic observers keeping close watch of the sky1 ready to trap with their cameras any unwary meteor which may flash into view4 ,on this occasion there were at least #bej observers in different parts of the country watching the phenomenon during the whole two hours the meteor trail remained visible4 ,there is a branch of the ,british ,astronomical ,association which deals with records and observations of meteors1 and it is known as the ,meteor ,section4 8,mr4 ,denning has proved a faithful friend10 as ,miss ,a4 ,grace ,cook remarks in her report of the ,section for #aibb1 8and has encouraged the ,section in every possible way40 ,sometime one of the enthusiastic observers in search of meteors may be rewarded by a discovery of larger prey1 in the form of a comet4 ,imagine the delight of having a comet one could thus claim1 as it were1 as one's own personal property6 ,fireballs differ vastly from shooting stars in exposing a larger surface to the opposing atmosphere1 as they make their downward plunge from space therein4 ,it is when they suddenly come in contact with the particles of which the air surrounding our planet is composed1 that their presence is first made known to us4 ,when a shooting star finally blazes out1 owing to the friction caused by the encounter1 it is at a height of from thirty to fifty-five miles above the ground4 ,it is then dissipated in vapor1 and vanishes4 ,no wonder these balls of fire caused terror among the ignorant and superstitious in the days when their meaning was unknown4 ,in ,mr4 ,denning's book1 ,telescopic ,work for ,starlight ,evenings1 page #bfi1 there is a drawing made by ,j4 ,plant of ,salford1 as an illustration1 giving an excellent idea of the imposing aspect of a fireball1 seen by this observer on ,november #bc1 #ahgg1 as it emerged from behind a cloud4 ,judging from the date1 it might have been one of the ,bielids1 provided its radiant was in the constellation ,andromeda4 ,it was1 however1 in ,taurus4 ,fireballs are usually silent1 but sometimes they have been known to explode with a loud noise4 ,the fireball which was observed 7as above7 in ,november1 #ahgg1 is said to have 8given a sound like salvos of artillery1 and doors and windows were violently shaken40 ,as a rule1 however1 there is no audible explosion1 the bright nucleus fading out until it is reduced to a mere spark before disappearing4 ,occasionally fireballs have been known to give out three or four brilliant flashes before fading from view4 ,these flashes1 often of startling intensity1 have been described as 8coming less swiftly than flashes of lightning40 ,they remind one forcibly of moonlight breaking through the clear intervals in passing clouds4 ,there is always something mysterious about these luminous objects as they emerge so stealthily from the darkness1 vanishing as silently as they came4 ,during the month of ,august fine meteoric displays may be looked for1 between the #ajth and #acth of that month4 ,they are sometimes referred to as 8the tears of ,st4 ,lawrence10 since the #ajth of ,august is dedicated to the memory of that saint4 ,however1 they are more generally known as the ,perseids1 their radiant being in the constellation ,perseus4 ,as this group of stars has risen tolerably high about nine o'clock in the northeastern sky during the month of ,august1 watching for ,perseids is an easier matter than in the case of the ,leonids1 which do not appear at their best until 8the wee sma' hours40 ,the meteors belonging to the ,perseid family are yellow in color1 moving at the rate of thirty-eight miles a second1 as compared with the swift onrush of the ,november meteors at forty-four miles a second1 the latter flashing into view with the rapidity of a skyrocket1 and as swiftly disappearing4 ,the ,bielids1 on the contrary1 travel with medium velocity1 their stately glide at ten miles per second1 being in marked contrast to the speed of the ,perseids or ,leonids4 ,the ,bielids1 also called the ,andromedids1 are due ,november #bc-bg1 and1 as already noted1 may be seen to radiate from a point near ,gamma in the constellation ,andromeda4 ,in the case of the ,perseids1 a few brilliant streaks often herald their approach1 usually giving promise of an especially fine display4 ,the ,august meteor showers yield the smallest shooting stars and the largest type of fireballs4 ,observers startled by the sudden appearance of the latter are rather apt to give exaggerated accounts of their appearance1 neglecting to note the direction whence they came1 the time or duration of their flight1 and other necessary data1 rendering the observations1 in consequence1 practically useless4 ,we now come to shooting stars1 the kindergarten--as it were--of the meteoric system4 ,weighing practically but a few ounces at the most1 they can be easily handled or put into one's pocket without discomfort4 ,analysis of those which have sunk to rest on our planet1 as a result of successfully penetrating right through the atmospheric net surrounding our domain1 has shown that they are composed of iron and many of the chemical elements1 such as sodium and carbon1 which are to be found on the earth4 ,for vast periods of time they may have been pursuing a seemingly endless voyage along the highways and byways of the solar system1 wending their way in safety amid the intricate paths traversed by the planets4 ,they have been traveling at a speed far exceeding that of the swiftest cannon ball1 and doubtless with an average velocity of about twenty-five miles a second4 ,a shooting star moving at such a rate would pass from the earth to the moon in a couple of hours1 or from ,london to ,edinburgh in about ten seconds4 ,all goes well with the little traveler as long as it keeps at a discreet distance from the arial torpedo net surrounding our planet1 seemingly set for the purpose of entrapping such intruders4 ,however1 should the shooting star venture too near1 plunging through the atmosphere at the pace which kills1 it is bound to come to grief4 ,rubbing against every particle it meets on the way1 friction is caused1 resulting in the blaze of glory which makes its presence known to us1 swiftly followed by its exit when it is reduced to ashes4 ,some of the particles1 if any are left 7for usually they are dissipated in vapor in the upper regions of the air71 sift down upon our planet in the form of fine dust4 ,from the top of a high mountain ,dr4 ,reichenbach collected dust which had never been touched by spade or pick-ax2 and in analysis he found this dust to consist of almost identically the same elements as those of which meteoric stones are composed--nickel1 cobalt1 iron1 and phosphorus4 ,dr4 ,phipson1 in his interesting work on ,meteors1 ,arolites1 and ,shooting ,stars1 remarks that 8when a glass covered with pure glycerine is exposed to a strong wind1 late in ,november1 it receives a number of black angular particles1 which can be dissolved in strong hydrochloric acid1 and produces yellow chloride of iron upon the glass plate40 ,it is a strange thought that the air which sifts in through the window1 and settles on the tables and chairs1 nay even the very air we breathe1 may contain particles of matter which have at one time circled in meteoric form around the sun6 ,should this be the case1 and if1 as ,professor ,newcomb1 the ,american astronomer1 tells us1 no less than #adf1jjj million meteoric particles fall on the earth during the course of a year1 may we not infer that this means an increase in its mass8 ,in my father's book1 ,the ,orbs ,around ,us 7page #aie71 he writes3 8,if we assign a single grain as the weight of each meteor visible to the naked eye1 we deduce fifteen millions of grains as the earth's daily increase of weight4 ,this is rather less than a ton4 ,so that in the course of about three years the earth's weight must increase 7even on the very low value here assigned to a meteor's weight7 by a thousand tons2 and in the course of the three thousand years during which astronomy has been a science the earth's weight must have increased a million tons4 ,this is a mere trifle compared with the earth's own weight1 which is #f1jjj millions of millions of times greater4 ,indeed1 it may easily be shown that the actual increase of the earth's radius in this interval of #c1jjj years1 would be about the #gj1jjj1jjjth part of an inch40 ,from time immemorial legend and superstition have interwoven themselves around these small members of the solar system as they silently and swiftly sweep across the vault of heaven1 vanishing mysteriously as though extinguished by some invisible hand4 ,dante describes them3 8,as oft along the still and pure serene ,at nightfall glides a sudden trail of fire1 ,attracting with involuntary heed ,the eye to follow it1 erewhile it rest ,and seems some star that shifted place in heaven40 ,for the ,oriental believer1 the shooting stars are the fiery darts hurled by the angels at the evil spirits or genii when the latter are caught eavesdropping at the gates of heaven4 ,this legend is to be found in the ,koran1 and is referred to by ,moore in his 8,paradise and the ,peri10 in the lines3 8,fleeter than the starry brands ,flung at night from angel hands1 ,at those dark and daring sprites ,who would climb th' empyreal heights40 ,according to a ,lithuanian myth as told by ,grimm in his ,deutsche ,mythologie1 the spinstress ,werpega spins the thread of a child's life at birth1 and each thread ends in a star4 ,when death approaches1 the thread breaks and the star falls to earth1 quenching its light4 ,in ,galicia1 the province northeast of ,hungary1 the peasants believe that when a star falls to earth it is at once transformed into a rarely beautiful maiden with long1 glittering1 golden hair4 ,she is supposed to exert a magical influence on all who come in contact with her1 but the effect is evil unless certain words are uttered ere the star falls to earth4 ,from this superstition doubtless springs the custom of 8wishing0 while a shooting star is seen gliding swiftly eastwards4 ,the wish will surely come true1 it is said1 if fully expressed before the star fades from view4 ,finally1 we have the fanciful idea suggested in the following lines by ,fiona ,macleod3 8,a star was loosed from heaven2 ,all saw it fall1 in wonder1 ,where universe clashed universe ,with solar thunder40 ,,chapter ,,nine ,,did ,,life ,,first ,,come ,,to ,,this ,,earth ,,in ,a ,,meteor8 ,among the most startling suggestions recently thrown out by men of science1 not one1 perhaps1 has seemed more amazing to the general public than the idea put forward by ,sir ,william ,thomson in the able address with which he inaugurated the meeting of the ,british ,association 7#ahga7--that life on the earth may have had its origin from seeds borne to our planet by meteors1 the remnants of former worlds4 --,r4 ,a4 ,,proctor4 ,the quaint suggestion thus advanced by ,lord ,kelvin regarding the possibility of the first germs of life reaching our planet in the form of 8a fragment of an exploded world10 was taken seriously at the time by some1 but was undoubtedly merely a jest on the part of the able speaker4 ,as my father remarked in the book from which the above quotation is made 7,the ,orbs ,around ,us73 8,i can scarcely bring myself to believe that the eminent professor was serious in urging his hypothesis of seed-bearing meteors4 ,englishmen speak sometimes of the slowness with which a ,scotsman apprehends a jest2 but the ,scotsman may return the compliment1 so far1 at least1 as the southern estimate of ,scottish humor is concerned4 ,for a true ,scot makes his jest with a gravity and aplomb unequaled among ,sassenach humorists4 ,it is far from improbable that the seriousness with which the seed-bearing meteorites have been discussed proved infinitely amusing to the gathering of the clans in ,edinburgh40 ,nevertheless1 that there were some believers who were convinced that ,lord ,kelvin would not have advanced such a theory without some solid basis for its foundation1 was shown by the fact that the great ,swedish scientist1 ,svante ,arrhenius1 considered it worth while1 in his book entitled ,the ,life of the ,universe1 to refer to the various difficulties which have made it next to impossible to establish the theory1 which he compares 7from the standpoint of arousing popular interest7 with the problem of perpetual motion4 ,he concluded his remarks on the subject by the statement 7which has already been confirmed7 that the problem of spontaneous generation in the actual form of a meteor will1 8it is to be expected1 be eliminated from the scientific program1 just as the problem of perpetual motion has been discarded40 ,nevertheless1 there is something fascinating about this myth which appealed strongly1 at the time it was advanced1 to the imagination1 though it led to queries which when answered led nowhere4 ,if the worlds by bursting supplied space with seed-bearing meteors1 how were they themselves peopled with living beings8 8,this circumstance of itself throws an air of doubt over the new hypothesis10 according to my father's views on the subject1 8as a seriously intended account of the origin of life on our earth40 ,it recalls the cumbersome way in which the ,hindu accounted for the support of our planet in space1 supposing it rested upon the back of a tortoise1 but the ,hindu student of science might well ask how is the tortoise itself supported8 ,or again1 supposing life-bearing meteorites reached our planet from exploded worlds1 what would be their condition by the time they were deposited on a soil favorable for their development8 ,according to ,flammarion regarding the possibility of meteoric fragments coming to our planet from an ancient satellite of the earth which was shattered to pieces1 the germs shut up in the interior of the meteorite would remain in a kind of lethargic sleep without losing any of their germinative qualities during their plunge through interplanetary space4 ,in fact1 the author lends a seductive air of plausibility to the myth1 suggesting that the fragments would reach our planet fresh and cold1 to be again rejuvenated and come to life1 but even ,flammarion is compelled to acknowledge that we have found nothing to prove such a theory true4 ,but if this new theory should be accepted1 as my father wrote in #ahga1 8we have reason to regard with apprehension the too close approach of one of these visitants2 because1 if one meteor supplied the seeds of the living things now existing on the world1 another may supply myriads of seeds of undesirable living things2 and perhaps the sequent struggle for life may result in the survival of the fittest40 ,it may seem superfluous to add that1 in a collision by which a world was shivered into fragments1 the seeds of life would have what may be described as a warm time1 since the collision could hardly fail to vaporize the destroyed world4 ,the fiery heat generated by the collision1 followed by a voyage during myriads of millions of ages through the inconceivable cold of space1 and the effect of the fierce heat which accompanies the fall of meteoric masses upon our earth1 would seem so unfavorable to the germs of life that we may accept with confidence the belief that all such germs had been completely destroyed before reaching this planet4 ,arrhenius reversing the seed-bearing-meteor theory in connection with a meteorite bringing the seeds of life to our planet1 makes a neat calculation showing the time which would be required for a tiny particle1 drawn from our planet and hurled into space1 to arrive at the surface of a planet circling around the star ,alpha in the constellation of the ,centaur4 ,it would be twenty days on its way to ,mars 7traveling at the usual rate of speed assigned to meteors1 viz41 some twenty-six miles a second47 ,a year would elapse before it reached the outermost planet ,neptune1 which travels on the confines of the solar system1 and some nine thousand years ere it plunged through the atmosphere surrounding a planet circling round the nearest star1 and finally crashed on its surface4 ,endless are the speculations which might thus be indulged in regarding the celestial voyages of meteors through interplanetary space1 but though the misguided ones which have rashly ventured too near our planet have been trapped in its atmosphere1 landing on its surface before suffering complete annihilation1 have been weighed1 measured1 and tested by chemical analysis1 the past history of their excursions into space is enshrouded in a mysterious silence as unbroken as that of the ,sphinx4#ad ,illustration3 ,,outh ,,lodge1 ,,keithick1 ,,where ,,the ,,strathmore ,,meteorite ,,fell ,,through ,,the ,,roof1 ,,december #c1 #aiag ,photograph of the lodge and ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,hill taken by ,h4 ,coates ,the writer at one time had a paper weight to which she attached great value1 despite the fact that it was an apparently insignificant metallic stone weighing a few ounces1 but there was a fascination in the conjecture as to where it had come from4 ,that was the query which could never be answered1 for all that was actually known of the past history of this celestial visitor dated from one eventful evening when it was seen for a few brief seconds as a momentary streak of light1 revealing the course of its descent1 so that a fortunate mortal here below was enabled to locate it after its swift plunge to earth4 ,after it had cooled sufficiently to bear handling1 it was carefully examined and its substance was found to be thickly interspersed with carbon particles1 revealing1 like so many telltale imps1 that this inert mass had once known better days when its life was filled with activity until it took the fatal plunge which ended so disastrously4 8,if you only knew what ,i have seen1 and where ,i have been during my wanderings in space10 one could imagine the meteorite saying in reply to the numerous queries1 regarding its origin1 in the mind of the writer2 until this fascinating little visitor in space vanished as mysteriously as it had come1 through too great a confidence placed in an audience in the ,far ,west1 where the meteorite was passed round for inspection and never returned4 ,however1 the writer was enabled to resume her study of the subject on a larger scale while visiting the famous ,foyer collection of meteorites at the ,american ,museum of ,natural ,history1 ,new ,york1 where the specimens are a little too hefty for transportation4 ,no one1 for instance1 would be able to depart with the ,ahnighito1 the great ,cape ,york meteorite1 which was found on the north coast of ,melville ,bay near ,cape ,york1 ,greenland1 by ,commander ,robert ,e4 ,peary1 in #ahid1 without attracting a considerable amount of attention4 ,it is the largest and heaviest meteorite known1 weighing over thirty-six tons4 ,it possibly weighed more up to the date of its fall1 as the guide ,tallakoteah1 who enabled ,peary to discover the meteorite1 informed him that up to the early part of the nineteenth century1 members of the ,eskimo tribe had found it very useful in providing them with material for knives and hatchets4 ,illustration3 ,,strathmore ,,meteorite1 ,,essendy ,,fragment ,photograph taken ,december #c1 #aiag1 by ,h4 ,coates ,there are really three masses1 the largest already referred to being ten feet eleven inches long1 six feet nine inches high1 and five feet two inches thick4 ,it was called ,ahnighito after the name of the daughter of the explorer4 ,the next larger mass weighing about three tons was named 8,the ,woman10 because the shape suggested the idea of a woman seated on the ground with a babe in her arms and a shawl around her shoulders4 ,the third and smallest mass weighing about #a1jjj pounds1 was called 8,the ,dog10 and the three meteorites were known as a group to the ,eskimo under the name of 8,saviksue10 or 8,the ,great ,irons40 ,the ,woman and ,the ,dog were visited by ,peary in #ahid1 and were obtained the following year after much difficulty and exciting work1 an incident of which was the breaking up of the cake of ice on which ,the ,woman had been ferried from the shore to the ship1 just as the mass was about to be hoisted aboard4 ,fortunately there was enough tackle around the meteorite to prevent its loss4 ,in #ahie ,commander ,peary visited ,ahnighito1 which lay on an island only four miles from the two smaller masses1 but he could do little toward its removal4 ,the next year he made another voyage for the purpose of getting the ,great ,iron1 but was again unsuccessful4 ,this third attempt was made in #ahig1 when the meteorite was brought in safety to ,new ,york in the ship ,hope4 ,in the ,foyer collection is also the famous ,willamette meteorite1 which weighs more than fifteen tons4 ,its height is over six feet1 its width four feet1 and its length ten feet4 ,it is one of the most interesting meteoric fragments in the collection1 though not the largest4 ,nevertheless1 its appearance tells a wondrous story of the experience it must have had during its swift rush through the air4 ,the deep hollows in its surface were probably caused by friction with the particles encountered during its swift flight through the atmosphere surrounding our planet4 ,this resulted in the melting of part of the metallic substance of which it is composed1 chemical analysis showing that it contains an admixture of iron1 nickel1 a small amount of cobalt1 and in addition some phosphorus and sulphur4 ,to give an idea of the depth of the hollows1 the curator of the ,museum showed the writer a photograph of two boys seated in two of the largest4 ,the ,willamette was discovered in the autumn of #aijb1 in the forest about nineteen miles south of ,portland1 by a ,welsh miner named ,ellis ,hughes4 ,at first he thought he had discovered an iron mine1 but on digging away the earth surrounding it1 he found that it was a meteorite4 ,the miner1 who was well acquainted with the handling of such masses1 constructed a low wooden truck1 on to which he managed to overturn the fifteen-ton mass1 and then1 with no other motive power than an old horse windlassing a rope round a capstan as a winch1 which had to be moved and reanchored as the truck with its load was drawn up to it1 he and his fifteen-year-old son1 working so quietly during the winter that not even the nearest neighbor suspected what they were doing1 dragged the mass three-quarters of a mile on to his own land4 ,apparently this mass of iron was known before the discovery above related1 as an ,indian relic1 revered from time immemorial by the ,siwash ,indians4 ,when the ,portland ,land ,company1 who owned the land on which the meteorite was found1 instituted legal proceedings in the matter1 claiming the right of possession1 the lawyer engaged by ,ellis ,hughes to plead his cause was of the opinion that the meteorite was not 8real estate10 but 8discarded personal property10 belonging to whoever might find it4 ,in support of this statement he called a very old ,siwash ,indian as a witness1 who testified that the mass of iron had long been known to members of his tribe1 who attributed to it magic virtue4 ,as a youth1 he said1 he had been conducted to it by one of the medicine-men1 and informed that if arrows were dipped in the water which collected in the hollows they would always wing their way to the heart of the game shot at4 ,however1 the judge ruled that the meteorite went with the land1 and an order was issued giving possession thereof to the ,portland ,land ,company4 ,it was purchased later on by ,mrs4 ,william ,e4 ,dodge1 and presented to the ,museum of ,natural ,history in ,new ,york ,city4 ,near the ,willamette meteorite is one called the ,canyon ,diablo1 famous chiefly on account of the fact that it contains diamonds4 ,it was found in #ahia1 near ,coon ,butte1 ,arizona1 in the neighborhood of the town of ,canyon ,diablo4 ,the original size of the mass is not known1 but thousands of fragments have been collected1 varying in weight from a fraction of an ounce up to #a1jhg pounds4 ,more than sixteen tons of this material are said to have been found within a radius of two and a half miles of ,coon ,butte1 a conical hill rising from #acj to #afj feet above the surrounding plain1 and containing a crater-like hollow about three-quarters of a mile in diameter and probably originally #a1dfj feet deep4 ,the appearance of this region seems at first sight1 to the casual visitor1 far more suggestive of a terrific explosion at a remote period of the past1 resulting in an upheaval causing the vast crater from which the meteoritic-looking masses scattered over the surrounding plain had been ejected1 but ,dr4 ,hovey is of the opinion that their presence has been caused by the downfall of an immense meteorite from above4 ,according to his investigations of the scene1 8there is no lava of any kind in ,coon ,butte or in its immediate vicinity1 such as is found in volcanic regions40 ,he also asserts that the main part of the mass has not yet been discovered1 the fragments so far found being only the portions separated from the original mass during its passage through the atmosphere and at the time of its impact with the earth4 ,there are two fragments of the ,canyon ,diablo meteorite in the ,foyer collection1 and the largest piece discovered is the one weighing #a1jhg pounds1 to which reference has already been made4 ,a slice of the meteorite1 in which a diamond was found1 undoubtedly attracts the greatest amount of attention from visitors to the museum4 8,diamonds falling from the sky10 they have been heard to remark1 8then why not make a search for the missing fragment which may be a depository of unknown wealth80 ,however1 the possibilities are that it has buried itself to such a depth in its crash to earth1 that a search for it would be a stupendous undertaking1 with possibly no results as far as diamonds are concerned4 ,the importance attached to the discovery of diamonds in the ,canyon ,diablo meteorite hinges upon the well-known fact that the diamond is the purest carbon in nature4 ,charcoal is almost pure carbon1 and1 as everyone knows1 common charcoal is the product of combustion1 the residue from the burning of a piece of woody tissue excluded from the air4 ,this is the everyday teaching of chemistry in the college laboratory4 ,according to ,dr4 ,hovey1 regarding the fact that the ,canyon ,diablo meteorite contains diamonds1 8,this gem-stone diamond has been definitely proved to occur in only two meteorites1 the other being a ,russian fall1 although many masses are known to contain carbon in the form of a soft1 black powder40 ,the discovery of diamonds in ,canyon ,diablo was made in #ahia1 by ,professor ,g4 ,a4 ,koenig of ,philadelphia1 and was afterward confirmed by ,dr4 ,george ,f4 ,kunz of ,new ,york1 ,professor ,moissau of ,paris1 and other investigators4 ,in #aije1 ,moissau dissolved a fragment of ,canyon ,diablo weighing several pounds1 and obtained not only recognizable crystals of the diamond1 but also crystals of a mineral corresponding exactly in composition to the extremely hard artificial silicide of carbon known as carborundum4 ,the new mineral has been named ,moissauite1 and this is the first time that it has been found in nature4 ,geology teaches us not only that charcoal and the mineral coals are different forms of that wonderful element we call carbon1 but also that bituminous and anthracite coals are the transformed products of ancient vegetation1 through the combined agencies of heat1 enormous pressure1 and the slow transmuting effect of ages4 ,this talismanic element is ever found associated in some form with organic substance1 and organic substance is life substance1 animal as well as vegetable4 ,hence comes the all-engrossing conclusion that wherever carbon exists there organic matter exists or has existed2 and1 if organic matter1 then its essential companion life6 ,does the meteoric fragment ,canyon ,diablo1 which fell from the sky upon our planet1 come from a world now or at one time the abode of life8 ,seemingly1 we have drifted back to the original argument1 ,did life first come to this earth in a meteor8 and we are no nearer a solution of the problem unless--as some one facetiously remarked1 an enterprising individual inclosed a message within a meteor ere it took its departure for our planet from some distant world4 ,as ,flammarion says in his book on ,the ,plurality of ,worlds3 8,the problem remains the same4 ,we want to know how life first appeared1 and this problem has not been advanced in the slightest degree by the theory adopted by ,lord ,kelvin and ,arrhenius40 ,but1 as already stated1 no one dreamed of taking the suggestion made by ,lord ,kelvin1 seriously4 ,,the ,,end ----- ,footnote #a3 ,chambers's ,story of the ,comets1 pp4 #baa-bab4 ,footnote #b3 ,journal of the ,bombay ,branch of the ,royal ,asiatic ,society1 vol4 xxiii4 ,account of comets given by ,mohammedan historians4 ,footnote #c3 ,this disposes of the story according to which1 when the reporter of a ,sydney newspaper asked the writer if she had discovered any comets1 she modestly replied1 8,yes1 a few40 ,footnote #d3 ,nature1 ,june #af1 #ahhg4 ,footnote #e3 ,see ,flammarion's ,history of the ,heavens1 p4 #cdh4 ,footnote #f3 ,monthly ,notices1 ,r4,a4,s41 vol4 vii1 p4 #gc1 ,march1 #ahdf4 ,footnote #g3 ,see ,astronomische ,nachrichten1 vol4 #ajd1 p4 #abi4 ,footnote #h3 ,the camera with which the meteor was photographed by ,dr4 ,w4 ,j4 ,s4 ,lockyer is placed specially for recording meteors4 ,it is orientated to the polar stars simply for the purpose of being able to identify the stars to deduce the path of the meteor1 should one be recorded4 ,otherwise1 no interest is attached to the polar star trails1 as such4 ,footnote #i3 ,in ,rebirs' ,les ,femmes dans la ,science he writes as follows about ,madame ,lepaute3 8,a little girl of six years when taunted one day by her sister with the remark1 #8,i am prettier than you1' made the ready rejoinder1 #8,but ,i am wiser4' ,the future career of ,nicole ,rine table de la ,brire1 afterwards wife of the famous clock-maker1 ,jean ,andr ,lepaute1 proved the truthfulness of her boast40 ,footnote #aj3 ,perihelion about ,february1 #aihf4 ,the comet probably will be first seen during the spring of #aife4 ,footnote #aa3 ,it is now thought that the temperature of such small bodies will never have been high enough to call them suns4 ,eddington says a mass one-eighth of that of the sun would be required for this4 ,footnote #ab3 ,perturbations will make very great changes in the orbits4 ,the perihelion distance of ,pons-,winnecke has increased twenty million miles or more in the past sixty years4 ,footnote #ac3 ,recent papers tend to the conclusion that the transformation from giants to dwarfs is very slow4 ,jeans and ,jeffreys both think that the change in the sun in #a1jjj million years has been slight4 ,footnote #ad3 ,on rare occasions meteors have fallen on houses1 as in the case of the ,strathmore meteorite1 photographed by ,h4 ,coates4 ,he also took a photograph of ,outh ,lodge1 ,keithick1 on which the meteorite fell1 ,december #c1 #aiag4 ,it made a hole in the roof of the house4 ,the owners thereof1 ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,hill1 are included in the photograph1 which was sent to the writer by ,mr4 ,w4 ,e4 ,denning4 ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,transcriber',s ,,notes ,page ,changed from ,changed to #acg would approach the comet with would approach the planet with retrograde retrograde ,typos fixed2 non-standard spelling and dialect retained4 ,used numbers for footnotes1 placing them all at the end of the last chapter4 ,enclosed italics font in underscores4