rd to the tails of comets. Observation teaches us that their tails
are invariably turned _from_ the sun, though why they always are so
turned away is an unsolved problem, apart from some real or hypothetical
repulsive power. We have, however, to further remember that the
electro-magnetic Aether around the sun is ever rotating with that body,
and carrying with it in its rotation all associated planets and meteors.

This rotation of the Aether plays a most important part in the phenomena
stated. Whether the comet is approaching the sun, or receding from the
sun, it is still subject to the influence of this rotatory Aether
medium. The result will be that the lighter particles of the vaporised
matter will be acted upon more powerfully than the heavier parts, so
that even when the comet is receding from the sun, after it has passed
the perihelion, the lighter parts which go to form the tail will be more
under the influence of the repelling Aether waves than the heavier
parts, as the nucleus, as suggested by Bredichin.

Thus the natural result will be that the tail will still be directed
away from the sun even when it is receding from that body. Gradually,
however, as the comet recedes, it passes out of the denser Aether, where
the intensity of motion and vibration are greatest, to those slower
parts of the sun's aetherial field where they are less intense.

The effect of this is soon made manifest on the tail and head of the
comet. The process which took place as it approached the sun is now
exactly reversed, as it is now passing out of a denser into a more
rarefied medium, where its motions and vibrations are less intense. The
tail, therefore, appears to be drawn back to the head, while the head
will itself gradually contract into the nucleus, as it recedes further
and further into space. If the comet be situated within the plane, or
nearly the plane of the ecliptic, then it is possible for it to return
again, and go through the same process, unless it is captured on its
outward journey by some of the large outer planets, as Jupiter. If,
however, their planes do not coincide with the plane of the ecliptic,
then it is very possible that they will not reappear again, but pass on
to some other stellar system. Thus we can explain on a strictly
philosophical basis one of the most interesting, and yet one of the most
mysterious phenomena associated with our solar system, from the simple
yet truly philosophical assumption that Ae