COMETS, AEROLITES 



THE COMET OF 1811 



Comets are heavenly bodies of a luminous and nebulous appearance, which approach to a: 

 recede from the sun, moving in very elliptical orbits; they usually present the following pi 

 nomena. A faint luminous circle is first seen by the aid of good telescopes, after a short tn 

 a nucleus or part where the light seems more concentrated appears, the object continues 

 enlarge and a tail begins to form which looks as if one side of the nucleus were projected u 

 stream of light away from the body of the comet. This tail increases in length, so as sometii 

 to spread across the whole visible heaven. The comet approaches the sun, and passing roui 

 it is for a time lost to view, but emerges again on the other side with increased brilliancy, 

 phenomena of disappearance are then in the inverse order, the same as those of its appearan< 



AEROLITES. 



Aerolites. These are supposed to be small bodies 

 moving in space, and which are occasionally met with 

 and attracted by the earth. Their luminous appearance 

 is owing to their becoming ignited by the intense heat 

 acquired by their great velocity and the compression of 

 the air. The view represents a shower of Aerolites seen 

 in Europe in 1835. 



ELLIPTICAL 



Cometary Motion, it 



about the sun in orbits of a 

 meter very greatly exceeds t 

 of the extremities of the fig- 

 form, although of various deg 

 comet in its orbit, varies wi 1 

 rapid when near that lumina 

 from him. At different par 

 passage, showing the directio 

 be opposite to the sun. 



LOIS'JXXN: PUBLISHED 



