The Comet – Part 1 Summary & Notes - CBSE Class 8 English It So Happened

According to the CBSE Syllabus 2023-24, this chapter has been removed from NCERT Class 8 English It So Happened Notes & Summary textbook.

Summary of The Comet – Part 1

Chapter 9 of the Class 8 English Supplementary Reader – It So Happened, consists of prose – The Comet – Part 1, which is the story of an attempt made by an amateur scientist, Duttada, about his discovery of a new comet in the sky. So, is he successful in his attempt? Students can access the prose summary of CBSE Class 8 English Prose Notes – The Comet – Part 1 in CBSE English Notes Class 8 format here. We hope this summary will help students to get a better understanding of the chapter and prepare for their exam accordingly.

Students can also improve their writing section for the English exam by practising essays on various topics.

CBSE Class 8 English The Comet – Part 1 Summary

The Comet – Part 1 is a story about the revelation of a comet discovered by Manoj Dutta. Duttada was an amateur scientist who was keen to discover a comet with his telescope, Dibya Chakshu that meant ‘Divine Eye’. He loved to spend his time watching the night sky with his telescope. One moonless night in December, the cool breeze blew through the window, which disrupted Duttada’s wife, Indrani Debi’s sleep. She woke up and found out that her husband had left the door open. He didn’t wear a sweater in the cold weather and went to watch the night sky with his telescope. Indrani Debi always cursed the telescope and felt it had grabbed her husband’s attention, like a shrewd woman.

Duttada had purchased the telescope with his retirement money and would spend his spare time observing the stars in the night sky. His secret ambition was to discover a new comet in the sky. Comets are new objects that come from remote corners of the solar system. It has an interminable tail that is lit by the sunlight when it comes closer to the sun, then it recedes into darkness and disappears for many years or centuries. Duttada was quite optimistic about discovering a new comet in the night sky as he felt that professional astronomers were more focused on finding galaxies. On that night, Duttada discovered a new comet. He re-examined his charts and was confident that there was no mistake in his calculations.

Two days later, the local newspaper, ‘Ananda Bazar Patrika’ published Duttada’s discovery of a new comet. He had informed the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bangalore, about the comet and its whereabouts. Later, IIA confirmed this discovery and the comet was named after Duttada as ‘Comet Dutta’. This brought unwelcome attention to Duttada as he didn’t like attending functions and receptions. Moreover, his wife, Indrani Debi had always thought that comets bring in bad luck, and she had desperately wished that this discovery should have never happened. To this, Duttada told her that comets were just celestial objects and they had nothing to do with the issues or problems on Earth.

Meanwhile, in King’s College at Cambridge, Dr James Forsyth, who was an astronomer, received a letter that was sent by Sir John Macpherson. In the letter, John told James that he would be interested in meeting him that night and discussing a confidential matter. John Macpherson handed over a typescript to James that was supposed to be published in ‘Nature’. James enquired how he got his manuscript.

To this, John replied that Taylor, the editor of ‘Nature’ where his paper was supposed to be published, was his close aide. James stated that it should be published as it was urgent. However, John said that he understood the importance of the manuscript and that they should not publish it right away. As Sir John Macpherson was an accomplished scientist himself, Dr Forsyth thought it wise to discuss his paper with John and understand why he objected to publishing the manuscript.

As they discussed, they understood that if Comet Dutta collides with Earth, then it might have a catastrophic impact. James said his calculations were precise and highly accurate. He said that the collision was most likely to happen except for certain rare circumstances. Sir John Macpherson said the publishing of his paper could have profound implications on society. It would create a lot of panic among people, and they should do something to not let that dreadful news leak to the public right away.

James was a little apprehensive about not publishing his paper about Comet Dutta. To this, Sir John Macpherson told him that his paper would be published, but James just needed to suppress his content with a few ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ so that it does not create panic among the masses. Sir John Macpherson also assured James that an urgent secret meeting would be called with a team of experts from different countries to discuss the wretched comet. Henceforth, Sir John Macpherson began to make preparations for an international conference.

Conclusion of The Comet – Part 1

The chapter – The Comet – Part 1 teaches students that the discovery of celestial events can be delightful to watch but can also bring disastrous effects along with it. Here we present the CBSE Class 8 English It So Happened Prose Summary of The Comet – Part 1. We hope this must have helped 8th standard students to have a thorough understanding of the chapter.

Besides, they can visit BYJU’S website to access other resources such as CBSE Notes and CBSE study materials. They can also download BYJU’S: The Learning App and check out CBSE sample papers and previous years’ question papers.