HALLEY'S COMET.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIX, Issue 85, 12 April 1910, Page 4

HALLEY'S COMET.

SEEN FROM SYDNEY, OBSERVATORY. By Tclecrapb.— Pres* Association —Copyright. SYDNEY, Uth April. Hulley's comet \v«is picked up by the Observatory 45 minutes before sunrise to-day. As observed at dawn, it was not a biilliaut object. It seemed about as large ns nn eighth magnitude star. HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS, Piofewor Herbert Hnll Turner, Savilinn Professor of Astronomy in the University of Oxford, iccentlv gave an address on llalley'ft comet "at the Uoyal liißtitntion.- Referring to the subject of past appearances of Ualleys comet, tho lecturer observed thnt gicat histoncal f-vents' were associated with the later years in which the comet returned. The dalo 1066 would be noticed as that of Norman Conquest of England ; 1531 wa* the year in which Kint< Henry VIII. v>u» declared h««acl of the En^lihh Chuich; 1607 saw the foundation «f Jamcstowu. with which the histoiy of our lost colony, the I'nitrd States, miijht be said »•» commence ; 1758 saw the birth of Nrlnon. nnd 1759 the bntt.'o «>f Quibcron Uoy. .Mr. Crommelin hud (ailed attention to tho i-uuoAs parallel helwc-n tho gcneial olrdions in England in 1835 and 1910. Th« numbers of the parties at the prr-vioiis t\n lions and after the election in lh« comot \#nr aro i-uriouslv parallel :—: — 10*.5 1010 r.ibprnls ill pievinm . 514 513 F.ihcraU aftrr rice tion 385 .507 Opposition in previous 114 157 Opposition after election 273 273 The cornet of 1066 was prrhup« tha *vkortJ mentioiipd by Joseph im* as* lianj;niR over .loiusnlfin lor v whole year towhich ho took to be a warning of its impending destitution. FACTS CONCERNING PROXIMITY OF THE COMET. (BI TELEaO.\PK — srLCIAL TO TUB POST.] AUCKLAND. This Day. •Sonio facts concerning tho proximity of the comet huvr been given to ii Herald representative by Piofossor A. P. \V. Thomiip. A few days ago, said the PiofeMor. the <omct passed behind tho pun, and it now appoais to us to be receding from the Mm. Every morning now for some time to come it will rinn earlier than tho sun, nnd thus it will be casivr to observe. On 19th May it will pass between the earth and the sun. this being its nearest approach to our globe. Its distance from the earth then has been variously estimated by diffri flit astronomer* at from ten to fourteen million miles. Profeswr Thomas considers tlut we in \*e\v Zealand should be abj«* to s?e tho comet at any time iiow. but to tee it well would require ■very <lear atiito^pbei ie < ondilions. Tho • ritiral linn- will he on 19th May, when tin* tomet ni.i\ eithfr bo attrarted to the sun In- that body or cl«o simply swin'j; lonnd i'»d <oi»tinuc- on )t< romw ihrpiiqlt if the . oincl hits the nun the ffitriier will most probably suffer clisi njil ion. mill we ini^h) then ?p<- poitinns of it ti.ivllin^; through space.