THE COMET OF 1882 OVER MOUNT EGMONT.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLIV, Issue 4, 26 January 1910, Page 27

THE COMET OF 1882 OVER MOUNT EGMONT.

According to a writer in “Pearson’s Magazine,” if a comet were to sweep along tin* outer fringe of Hie earth’s atmosphere, so tremendous would be Hie gale caused by its progress, that a vast tornado would be caused. It would tear up trees, houses, trains, and ships in its embrace, and would probably devastate one complete hemisphere.

Admiral Lord Charles Beresford, whose repeated advocacy of naval reform has created Intense interest, topped the poll at. Portsmouth last week in the Unionist interests. Since his return, the Admiral has received over 3IMM) cablegrams from various parts of the Empire congratulating him on his victory.

From all th< known fact*. astronomers have concluded that the nucleus of a comet is merely a mass i f meteors, easily dispersed into small groups or distributed gradually along the orbit until eventually the comet is complete.y disintegrated ami extinguished. Biele's comet, discovered in 1X26. split Into two parts and reappeared as a double comet in IXI6. In 1X42 the two parts had drifted apart, and since then has disappeared. Every six and a half years the earth ross s tin* track of that lost comet, ami met'ori. showets ail that is left of Biela’s comet then rain upon us. Similarly thegre.at comet of lxs2 literally lost its head by breaking into four portions, each of which will some day form a separate comet. (Hr illimtr ation shows the famous count photographed in Taranaki in IXB2.