The distance between them, which in 1846 had increased only to about a
quarter of a million of miles, had in 1852 increased to five times that
space.
Probably a few thousands of years would have sufficed to set these
comets so far apart (owing to some slight difference of velocity,
initiated at the moment of their separation) that when one would have
been at its nearest to the sun, the other would have been at its
farthest from him. If we could now discern the separate fragments of the
comet, we should doubtless recognize a process in progress by which, in
the course of many centuries, the separate cometic bodies will be
disseminated all round the common orbit. We know, further, that already
such a process has been at work on portions removed from the comet many
centuries ago, for as our earth passes through the track of this comet
she encounters millions of meteoric bodies which are traveling in the
comet's orbit, and once formed part of the substance of a comet
doubtless much more distinguished in appearance than Biela's.
There can be little doubt that this is the true explanation of the
origin of that family of comets, five of whose members returned to the
neighborhood of the sun (possibly their parent) in the years 1668, 1843,
1880, 1882, and 1887.[1]
[Footnote 1: It may be interesting to compare the orbital elements
of the five comets above dealt with.
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