COMET MAY BE NAMED ARBUTUS

Chronicle (Levin), 20 December 1947, Page 5

COMET MAY BE NAMED ARBUTUS

WELLINGTON, Dec. 19. The neAV coniet, tentatively referred to from (ktlifornia as Coiiiet 1947, mav receive the name Comet Arhutus in hoiiour of H.M.N'.Z.S. Arhutus l'rom which so far as is known, the (irst accurate observation of it was rnatle. The director of the Curter Ohservatory, Mr. 1. L. Thomsen, has written to the Common wealth Solar Ohservatory at Oauberrn and to Mr. D. Leland Cunningham director of the Students' Ohservatory of the University of California at Ber keley, recommending that this course be adopted, if no earlier clnim of accurate positional observation is substantiated Mr. Thomsen said that the Arhutus ti x of the position on Decemher 9 was an excellent oue, this being evidenced hy its conformation with all subsequeni fixes of" the position. It would have heen verv Itright on Decemher 9 brighter than when lirst ohserved from the Carter Ohservatory on Decemher 11. It had heen calculated, said AL-. Thomsen, that when the comet was ai its closest to the sun on Decemher *2, it was within the orbit of Mercury vvhich is 36,000,(100 niiles from the sun Venus is 67,000,1)00 miles from the sun and the e-arfh 93,000,000 miles. The ohservatory would he ahle to record the «*oiuet patli for a wliile vet hut it was growing much fainter with its movemeut away from the sun and the moon's Ughting of the sky made things dillicult.