THE SUN AND THE COMET.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1051, 4 January 1883, Page 3

THE SUN AND THE COMET.

Mr Richard A, Proctor, the eminent | English astronomer, says that the comet now visible will certainly fall into the ■nn, and within a few months, perhaps before Christmas The result of this stupendous collision no man can foretell, It may have no apparent effect on the earth whatever ; or it may, as Sir Isaac Newton predicted about the comet of 1680, destroy all animal life on this planet. Speaking of the comet of 1680, which did not approach the sun nearly so closely as the comet of last September, Sir Isaac Newton said: ‘lt might have five or six revolutions more before it fell into the sun ; but whenever it did, it would so much increase his heat that this earth would be burnt up, and no animal in if- conld live.’ Mr Proctor is of opinion that the present comet is the same that appeared before last September, and before that in 1880 and 1843, and before that so long ago as 1588. ‘From an interval, he says, of 175 years to one of 37 years, then to an interval of 32 months, is a very startling rate of change 5 As to the future of thie comet, Mr Proctor says : ‘ What the time of circulation will be now remains to be seen. For my part I should say it. would be less than a year. In fact, from calculations 1 have made, I see reason to believe that the comet will be back in less than a year, perhaps before Christ mas.’ Mr Proctor is hopeful of the result, ressoning from the inappreciable effect of the late passages of the comet quite close to the snn ; our atmosphere underwent no change whatever. It is probable that the wanderer will be gobbled without a wink by (ur great luminary. The astronomer reasons as George Stephenson did in the early days of railroads, when asked what would happen should a cow got on the track. He answered m his strong dialect: ‘lt would bo mighty bad for the coo.’ Mr Proctor says: ‘lt may, I think be fairly assumed that though the approaching collision between the sun add a comet—a splendid comet if you will—will bo a serious affair for one of the bodies taking part in it ; it will not be the sun which will suffer.’