Ideality in the physical sciences Volume 50,

by Benjamin Peirce

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1881 ...about two hours, the comet of 1843, like that of 1680, went round the sun, from one side to the other. What could have become of the tail, which was reaching out about a hundred millions of miles from the sun as far as to the earth's orbit? There have been those who have actually adopted the incredible--I may say the impossible--hypothesis that the tail rotated through this immense circuit, developing a centrifugal force which all the united powers of the universe could not have sustained. But, no! The comet practically left its tail behind it, and began to grow a new tail as it receded from the sun. There were thus two tails, nearly side by side, stretching from opposite sides of the sun in nearly the same direction. The new tail began at the head of the comet; whereas the old deserted tail began without any head at some distance from the nucleus, and extended further from the sun than the new tail. That such a phenomenon should be presented by this comet was suggested by a geometer, before he knew that it had been actually seen; and it was as veritable a prediction as if it had been made before the observation. On several nights at the beginning of March, and before the comet had been observed by European astronomers, a double tail was seen in Chili, by M. Charles Darlu, and at Monte Video by Dr. Martin de Moussy. M. Darlu describes the second tail as beginning near a point about one third of the length of the first from the nucleus, and extending much further than the first. Dr. de Moussy describes the second tail as by the side of the principal tail, but of less dimensions, and not attached to it at any point. A similar phenomenon was seen, early in March, at various other places at which the comet could then be observed.1 But the visible separation of ...

40 pages, Paperback

Published May 20, 2012

About the author

American mathematician