40. Comets! ☄
On July 1, 1861, and how many comets there are in the solar system.
I recently took an interest in comets. So here are some facts:
The word ‘comet’ derives from the Greek κομήτης — which apparently refers to ‘wearing long hair’, e.g. the long, trailing hair of the comet’s tail.
As of June 11, 2024, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory estimated there were 1,368,432 asteroids and 3,948 comets in our solar system.
I just checked tonight (August 26) and those numbers have been revised upwards to 1,387,972 asteroids and 3,962 comets. I wonder if they ever revise the number downwards.
Here are several descriptions of the Great Comet of 1861 taken from that font of creative potential, Wikipedia:
July 1, 1861
‘Saw a huge comet last night in the northwest. Its tail reached half across the heavens. It has probably been visible for sometime, but as it has been cloudy lately I had not observed it before.’
- Private journal entry of Granville Stuart (quoth Wikipedia: ‘an American pioneer, gold prospector, businessman, civic leader, vigilante, author, cattleman and diplomat’ known as ‘Mr. Montana’)
‘Its appearance was sublime, as it extended over nearly half of the heavens...many wondered if the world was not coming to an end.’
- Emily Holder in Fort Jefferson, Florida
July 5, 1861
‘I awoke in the night at 1 o'clock, when I had a glorious sight of the largest comet I ever beheld. The head, or nucleus, was large as Venus, and very bright and blazing, and about 20 degrees above the horizon, pointed to the north, while the bright, long tail reached full half way across the heavens. It was a most wonderful sight.’
- James Riley Robinson on a ship in a Mexican harbor
Ambient Comet Music
I released a new song capitalizing upon my recent interest in comets, named after the appearance of a different comet, ‘Comet West 1975’ — available on Spotify, YouTube, etc, as well as Bandcamp. It’s intentionally quite quiet, designed for low-level listening, which is the kind of music I’ve been making lately, seeking to evoke a sense of open space and relative stillness.
If you like this newsletter, please do tell a friend. And if you want more, may I humbly recommend to you my first novel, The Forest Museum.
