DANGER FROM THE SKY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 22 August 1938, Page 9

DANGER FROM THE SKY

ASTEROID NEARLY COLLIDES WITH EARTH In a lecture entitled “Danger from the Sky,” delivered to the Astronomical Society of the Witwatersrand University, Dr H. E. Wood. Union of South Africa astronomer, describing how the earth narrowly escaped colliding with the asteroid. Hermes, in October. I Starting with reference in the Bible to shcwers of meteoric bodies on the earth, Dr Wood traced their history to the present day. In 1833 and 1866. he said, the earth ran through a mass of small meteoric bodies. But in 1899 only the fringe of the mass was encountered. This supported discoveries made during the 19th century that hundreds of small meteoric bodies existed between the orbits followed by Mars and Jupiter, and that they were deviated from their courses by the attraction of various heavenly bodies. It was this attraction that had brought the asteroid, Hermes, close enough to the earth to intersect its orbit. On the night of October 28 Hermes crossed the earth’s path at a certain point five hours before the earth reached that point. “There is now a definite possibility of a collision between the earth and' an asteroid, but there must be an even coincidence in space and a coincidence in time,” said Dr Wood. At present there was only a remote chance of this, but in time it would occur. ? The lecture was attended by many members of the Astronomical Society and a vote of thanks to Dr Wood, proposed by Dr G. Gillie, was heartily endorsed.