194 HERSCHEL AND HIS WORK 



1 1 ! I. -i M -IK -1 had not known this body to be a conu-t 

 he would have described its head, as "a very large, 

 brilliant, round nebula, suddenly much brighter in the 

 middle." He says that he would have added, "Tin- 

 centre of it might consist of very small stars." So 

 struck was he with this singular idea that he directed 

 a telescope "with a high power to the comet." II- 

 then saw "several small stars shining through the 

 nebulosity of the coma." The terror which once sur- 

 rounded the appearance of these bodies in the heavens 

 is gone ; the awe remains, and, as knowledge increases, 

 the mysteries that attend their birth, their growth, 

 their flight through space, have become greater and 

 more wonderful problems awaiting solution. 



