HALLEY'S COMET.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume LXII, Issue 9627, 16 March 1910, Page 6

HALLEY'S COMET.

Mr F. K. M'Cleau, F.R.A.S.. who is passiug through Aucklaud on bis way to Tasmania, where be will view the total eclipse of the suu ou *.)th May. is disposed to think that Halley's comet has been sadly maligned, and that instead of being a terrestrial lion it will be only one of tha pet lambs of infinitude (writes the Post's correspondent). Tne comet, be thiuks, will be quite a tame affair this trip, shorn of much of its former terrific glory, and its tail will not be dense enough to penetrate our atmosphere. Mr ai'Clean considers that it is au eucouragiug fact that iv 1882 our earth negotiated a more fearsome tail thau Halley's Comet is likely to have, aud the world still wakes to work ou Monday mornings. Up to the present, Halley's comet has not formed a beacon in the sky. The person who knows where to look for it lias been able to recognise it as a hazy blob in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, but the persou who does not know comets extensively would pass it by for a star. The dreadful tail has not developed yet, comets never do show their tails till they approach the sun, ancl are generally most alarming after leaving the sun. So, of course. Halley's comet may draw the eyes of mankind yet. It will be at its best about the middle of May, but the worst Mr M'Cleau fears is electrical effects, such as auroras ancl deviation of the compass. Eveu for tbis the mariuer need hardly tremble, as the effect will probably be less thau that of a big electrical storm.