A Text-Book of AstronomyComstock, George C. (George Cary)
Science
A Text-Book of Astronomy
Comstock, George C. (George Cary)
Astronomy
A more striking representation of a moderately bright telescopic comet
is contained in Figs. 104 and 105, which present two different views of
the same comet, showing a considerable change in its appearance. A
striking feature of Fig. 105 is the star images, which are here drawn
out into short lines all parallel with each other. During the exposure
of 2h. 20m. required to imprint this picture upon the photographic
plate, the comet was continually changing its position among the stars
on account of its orbital motion, and the plate was therefore moved
from time to time, so as to follow the comet and make its image always
fall at the same place. Hence the plate was continually shifted relative
to the stars whose images, drawn out into lines, show the direction in
which the plate was moved--i. e., the direction in which the comet was
moving across the sky. The same effect is shown in the other
photographs, but less conspicuously than here on account of their
shorter exposure times.
These pictures all show that one end of the comet is brighter and
apparently more dense than the other, and it is customary to call this
bright part the _head_ of the comet, while the brushlike appendage that
streams away from it is called the comet's _tail_.
[Illustration: FIG. 103.--Brooks's comet, November 13, 1893. BARNARD.]
160. THE PARTS OF A COMET.--It is not every comet that has a tail,
though all the large ones do, and in Fig. 103 the detached piece of
cometary matter at the left of the picture represents very well the
appearance of a tailless comet, a rather large but not very bright star
of a fuzzy or hairy appearance. The word comet means long-haired or
hairy star. Something of this vagueness of outline is found in all
comets, whose exact boundaries are hard to define, instead of being
sharp and clean-cut like those of a planet or satellite. Often,
however, there is found in the head of a comet a much more solid
appearing part, like the round white ball at the center of Fig. 106,
which is called the nucleus of the comet, and appears to be in some sort
the center from which its activities radiate. As shown in Figs. 106 and
107, the nucleus is sometimes surrounded by what are called envelopes,
which have the appearance of successive wrappings or halos placed about
it, and odd, spurlike projections, called jets, are sometimes found in
connection with the envelopes or in place of them. These figures also
show what is quite a common characteristic of large comets, a dark
streak running down the axis of the tail, showing that the tail is
hollow, a mere shell surrounding empty space.
[Illustration: FIG. 104.--Swift's comet, April 17, 1892.--BARNARD.]
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