MR E. A. PROCTOR ON THE COMET.

Feilding Star, Volume III, Issue 57, 3 January 1883, Page 3

MR E. A. PROCTOR ON THE COMET.

!he Illustrated London News of tiie 21st October gives an interesting paper by Air K. A. /Vector on the comet., with diagram illustrating its orbit, which closely approximates to that of the comet of 1843. From observations made at Vienra, lie concludes that the comet- is retreating on a path which it will circuit in less than a vear, whether it be the one ot JG9tf, 1843, and 1880 come back or not. But hi*! opinion of its fin:il destination is accompanied by a declaration that its absorption by the sun will not do us an}' barm. He savs ; — " It seems certain then (if we can depend on the VieDDa observation of the i'4th), knowing, as we certainly do, that the comet was at its nenresf to the sun on 14th September, that before many months are over we shall see it back again, to return in evernarrowing circuits and ever-shorten-ing periods, until finally it will circle round the sun in a few hours, to be constandy retarded by frictional resistance, hut accelerated in greater degree by resulting inrush towards the sun, until finarlly each portion of its substance reaches the sum's surface with a velocity of about. 2GO miles per second. I hat surface is itself moving in almost exactly contrary direction, with a velocity of a lit ti<* more than a mile per second. There will then, in all probability, be considerable disturbance, but, although the idea is now utterly exploded that comets are mere films of vapour, the total mass of the comet thus destroyed is, I conceive, too small lor any such increase of heat to be produced as will serously trouble he inhabitants o 1 the earth