Salt Lake Telegram | 1927-06-10 | Page 31 | Pons-Winnecke Comet Will Do No Damage, Says "Nurse"

I Pons- Pons Pons inne c e Comet Will 1 DoNo Do DoNo 0 No o Damage ama g e Says ass Nurse urse r I S' S Sp r v p ap 0 tt f M I r t ly f Jr rr ji a X i Ex i o By MILTON BRONNER BRONN R RN N NEA EA Service Correspondent LOND LONDON N. N June 10 Never 10 Never mind making a a. will putting on a 3 life Ufe preserver preserver pre pro server server or hiding tinder the b bed d sheet when when the comet conies comes close to the earth J June ne 29 No Nothing NO hing Is going to tp happen pen I g get t this' this straight from Ions Toris nurse the distinguished astronomer Dr Dl A. A C. C Crommelin By nurse Is s Ot meant n t that Pons- Pons k ro i I Is washed cashed s e l fed d and put eo fo bed b by Dr Crommelin He simply simply more knows Knows more about P Pens ons- ons than any any other living astronomer He He- Heis is retiring from the t p e Royal Ro-a Ro I Greenwich observatory after atter thirty thirty- six x y s' s continuous continuous' service as comet comet expert He Is the head of ot the trie c comet section of the British Astronomical association Seventeen years years' ears ears' ago he achie achieved t ed fame by mathematically working out the prediction that the m mysterious mysterious ste rious s Halley's Comet omet would appeal in our orbit orbit on on April 17 J 1910 9 LO It Itt actually appeared d April 19 This gave Crommelin lasting renown In astronomical annals r Pons- Pons Pons is new in our OUt orbit or- or or-I or bit and there h hive ve been various yarns to the effect that there Is dire danger to the to-the th earth CLOSEST CLOSEST MILES Stuff and nonsense said Dr Crommelin to me The cornet comet will willbe willbe willbe be closest to us on an June 29 and andeen even en then It will be titles milt away The thing to remember about comets is that most times the earth Is between the sun and the comet so that there Is no chance lot of running running running run run- ning Into its tall tay But even it if v Wi did run Into and through its tail tan the ordinary p person would not be aware of it The tail talt Is ia made mad up of highly tenuous highly nebulous gas stretching for millions of miles It Is quite conceivable that It we hit a big comet square quare on In its soU solid l nucleus something more serious would happen Its It's conceivable abl able some people would be hit by meteorites and killed Even when we are closest to o Pons on June 2 29 the comet will seem only a luminous wisp of cloud Our Our- moon is miles away fr from m the earth Pors- Pors will be over Ver fourteen times Umes a greater distance away away away-an an margin of safety THINKS THEM ERUPTIONS The real nature origin and characteristics char char- of comets still till are matters matters matters mat mat- of dispute Personally I think th they y are result results of eruptions of m mutter matter from the planets around which they revolve They Thoy presumably presumably ably pre re shoals of meteorites and other solid substances We t dont don't nt know what the solids solids are re When these come come near the sun pun gases gase's are released by the heat These rhese gases I ire are are mainly hydrogen hydrocarbons and the latt latter r ot of course course being p. p poisonous gas It It Is these gas gases s that form the tall tail of ot the comet streaming behind SUN SINGES TAILS Each time a comet comet met goes far faraway away from fr m the sun It loses Its tall tail and gets ets a anew neW one when It comes near I the sun again The comets which come frequently soon have nd no tails at all any more mOle P Pons ns which belongs to the group of ot cumes cum cum- ets s th that t revolve around Jupiter makes its It appearance in m our our- heavens heavens heavens ens abo C every five and a half or six years It was discovered by byJ J J. J L. L Pons Tons In 1819 and rediscovered by In 1858 Hence its name name