MR PIAZZI SMITH AND THE COMET.

Timaru Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 2553, 27 November 1882, Page 3

MR PIAZZI SMITH AND THE COMET.

Tho following is the concluding portion of a letter addressed to the Scotsman of Monday, Sept. 24th, by the Astronomer Royal for Scotland : — «•**## B n t w hat comet was it?

" The little that was seen on Monday m Scotland is not enough to give any clue, and no London journals, whether scientific or political, which I have seen up to the end of last week throw any light on the matter. But your paper, sir, I am happy to say, did contain on Saturday a note by cable from America; which, if fully correct, is of most profound import. Indeed, nothing so important to all mankind has occurred before through 1800 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 learned mathematical astronomers of the Union, and we may say now (such has been the rapid progress of astronomy during the last few years m that country) of the world. He jis said then to have concluded from his observations that the comet of last Monday was the comet of 1880 and 1843. A comet on each of these occasions was recognised to have passed closer to the sun's surface than any other known comet. But why has it come back so soon ? " In 1843 it appeared to be moving m an orbit of 170 years, and yet it came back m 1880, or m only 37 years ! That waH startling enough, though only looked on by the world as a case of failure of astronomical prediction. But having gone off m 1880 on an understanding generally come to by the best astronomers m Europe, North America, Bio Janeiro, the. Argentine Republic^ and Australia —ac all which latter places it had been well observed that it was not to return before 37 years (and other comets, such as Bailey's and Encke's, keep to their times of revolution round the sun nearly uniformly for centuries), behold this comet has returned now, on tho strength of your cablegram from America, m two years ! " In which case who can say whether it may not be back again from space m a few months; and then, not merely to graze close past, but actually fall into, the sun, which is so evidently increasing its hold upon it at every revolution ? Wherefore we maybe near upon the time for witnessing what effects will bo produced when such an event takes places m the solar system, as astronomers have hitherto only distantly speculated on, and no mortal eye is known to have ever beheld. Bnt we must bo calm, patient, philosophical,

judicial ; for the calculations involved ore excessively tedious and difficult when much accuracy is required. The whole of tho observations,: too, require to be gathered m from all parts of tho world, and extensive comparisons of the varyiug results of different computers have to be made, examined, and discussed with the greatest severity ; for how often are there not two eppearnuces very like each other m the immensity of nature, and yet not the same identical thing. — I am, &c, C.P.S." ' :