THE COMET SCARE.

Feilding Star, Volume III, Issue 45, 22 November 1882, Page 3

THE COMET SCARE.

An English paper received by the last mail contains the following: — With regard to the comet Professor Piazzi Smyth, Astronomer. Royal for Scotland, I writes to the Scotsman that the information telegraphed respecting it from America is, if correct, of most profound import. " Indeed," he says, " nothing so important to all mankind has occurred before through 1,800 years at least of astronomical history, and there is this prospect of the statement being true, that it is given under the name of Professor Lewis Boss, one of the most able and mathematical astronomers of the Union, and we may say now (such has been the rapid progress of astronomy during the last few years in that country) of the world. He is said then to have concluded from his observations that the comet was the comet of 1880 and 1843. A comet on each of these occasions was recognised to have passed closer to tbe sun's surface than any other known comet. But why has it come back so soon ? In 1843 it appeared to be moving in an orbit of 170 years, and yet it comes back in 1880, or in only 37 years ! Tbat was startling enough, though only looked on- by the world as a case of failure of astronomical prediction. But having gone off in 1880 on an understanding generally come to by the best astronomers in Europe, North America, Rio Janeiro, the Argentine Republic, and Australia — at all which latter places it had been well observed — that it was not to return before 37 years (and other comets, such as Halley's nnd Kncke's, keep to their times of revolution round the sun nearly uniformly for centuries), behold this comet has returned now iv two years ! In which case, who ciin say whether it may not be backagain from space in a few months, and (hen not merely to graze close past but actually fall into the sun, which is so evidently increasing its hold upon it at every revolution?"