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Article ON THE SUPPOSED INFLUENCE OE COMETS. ← Page 4 of 5 →
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On The Supposed Influence Oe Comets.
tioti ;" :. ;^ orbits are known , there is not one which fulfils the seco There is however one which , passes so near to the ecliptic , that if
both bodies were to arrive at the point where the orbit of the comet is nearest to that of the earth , a p the comet ; but the gaseous substance of which this body ( Biela ' s Coniet ) is composed , is so thin and attenuated , that the effo b 6 only that * of a solid body passing througK a thin cloudv
The only danger to be apprehended , therefore ^ is from a collision of the eait / h with an unknoivn comet ; and Arago has proved that , supposing the most favo - ^ as sumhig that the bom that its diameter is equal to one-fourth that of the earth- —the chances
against a , collision irom each individual comet is as 281 ^ To render t ^ 281 , 000 , 000 white balls and one blac is to draw one . The p ^ the same as that of the comet ; encountering the earth .
3 ince then a eolK extremely improM the next place what would be the consequences of such an oecur--rehce . As ^ e have before observed , coinet ^ of vapour , probably many times rarer and more attenuated than common air ; indeed , so thin , that stars which would be totally obscured by the slightest fog are distinctly seen through them ; and they could therefore produce no impression upon the solid substance of the earth . It might , however , produce great electrical effects upon the atmosphere .
Professor Nichol , in his "Contemplations on the Solar System /' observes that " The earth escaped being involved in the huge train of our recent visitor ( the comet of 1843 ) , merely by being fourteen days behind it . For one , I should have had no apprehension , even in that case , of the realization of geological romances , viz ., of our equator being turned to the pole , and the
pole to the equator , the ocean , meanwhile , leaping from its ancient bed . But if that mist , thin though it was , had , with next to inconceivable swiftness , brushed across our globe , certainly strange tumults must have occurred in the atmosphere ; and probably no agreeable modification of the breathing medium of organic beings . Right , certainly , to be most curious about comets ,- but prudent , withal , to enquire concerning * them from a
greater distance than that : although , one night in November , 1837 ? I cannot he persuadsd that the earth did not venture on a similar , but comparatively small , experiment . It was when our globe passed from the peaceful vacant spaces into that mysterious meteor region . The sky became inflamed and red as blood ; coruscations , like auroras , darted across it , not , as usual , streaming from one district , but shifting constantly , and sweeping the whole heavens *"
Comets have been , from time immemorial ,-supposed to exercise great influence over the weather , but this has , by long and careful observation , been disproved .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On The Supposed Influence Oe Comets.
tioti ;" :. ;^ orbits are known , there is not one which fulfils the seco There is however one which , passes so near to the ecliptic , that if
both bodies were to arrive at the point where the orbit of the comet is nearest to that of the earth , a p the comet ; but the gaseous substance of which this body ( Biela ' s Coniet ) is composed , is so thin and attenuated , that the effo b 6 only that * of a solid body passing througK a thin cloudv
The only danger to be apprehended , therefore ^ is from a collision of the eait / h with an unknoivn comet ; and Arago has proved that , supposing the most favo - ^ as sumhig that the bom that its diameter is equal to one-fourth that of the earth- —the chances
against a , collision irom each individual comet is as 281 ^ To render t ^ 281 , 000 , 000 white balls and one blac is to draw one . The p ^ the same as that of the comet ; encountering the earth .
3 ince then a eolK extremely improM the next place what would be the consequences of such an oecur--rehce . As ^ e have before observed , coinet ^ of vapour , probably many times rarer and more attenuated than common air ; indeed , so thin , that stars which would be totally obscured by the slightest fog are distinctly seen through them ; and they could therefore produce no impression upon the solid substance of the earth . It might , however , produce great electrical effects upon the atmosphere .
Professor Nichol , in his "Contemplations on the Solar System /' observes that " The earth escaped being involved in the huge train of our recent visitor ( the comet of 1843 ) , merely by being fourteen days behind it . For one , I should have had no apprehension , even in that case , of the realization of geological romances , viz ., of our equator being turned to the pole , and the
pole to the equator , the ocean , meanwhile , leaping from its ancient bed . But if that mist , thin though it was , had , with next to inconceivable swiftness , brushed across our globe , certainly strange tumults must have occurred in the atmosphere ; and probably no agreeable modification of the breathing medium of organic beings . Right , certainly , to be most curious about comets ,- but prudent , withal , to enquire concerning * them from a
greater distance than that : although , one night in November , 1837 ? I cannot he persuadsd that the earth did not venture on a similar , but comparatively small , experiment . It was when our globe passed from the peaceful vacant spaces into that mysterious meteor region . The sky became inflamed and red as blood ; coruscations , like auroras , darted across it , not , as usual , streaming from one district , but shifting constantly , and sweeping the whole heavens *"
Comets have been , from time immemorial ,-supposed to exercise great influence over the weather , but this has , by long and careful observation , been disproved .