Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1831-08-11


vern the planets, No doubt the ali.wise Creator
of the universe formed these bodies for-beneVo'
lent purposes, although most OF those purposes |
must be unknown to US, or deduced only by rea'
soning from analogy. /
II Is not to be presumed that he would hurl
worlds at random through the immensely OF space,
or permit any portion Of his works to be affected
inurlopsly by fortuitous circumstances, keii-
gion glOries in the test of reason, OF knowledge,
and Of true wisdom; it is every where connected
with, and elucdated by them. From philosophy
we may learn that the more his works are con-
templated, the more he must be adored; aud the
more evinced his government & superlntendance
over every portion Of his works
Tycho Brahe, DANISH astronomer, was the
first who restored comets to their true rank 10 inc
creation, by assigning them their situation IN Tue
solar system.
The number of comets belonging to the solar
system is unknown. More than tVe hundred
since the Christian era have been observed. Inc
orbits of ninety-six comets. up TO the year lSoo'
have been calculated; but Of all these, the perl
odical returns of three ONLY are known, with any
degree Of cefta,ntv. One Of these returns atm
tervaIs of seventy five years; at intervals OF
one hundred and twenty nine years; and the 9TH
er. at intervals Of FIVE hundred and seventy-hve
years. OF these, that which appeared in loSOis
| the most remarkable
Sir Isaac Newton calculated the heat of this CO.
met, when nearest the sun, to be 1000 times
greater than that Of red hot iron. lie also CAL
culated that its heat must be retained for very
| long time. Surprising il to have been large as
our earth, and that it had the property OF COOLING
100 times faster than red hot iron. he states that
! it would take 500 years to lose the heat 1t had
acquired from the sun.
| As comets have but feeble action on other DO.
dies il is concluded that they contain but small
| quantity of matter. This may be illustrated by
the comet OF 554, which is said to have ecllpsed
| the moon, so that it must have been very near
the earth. Yet it produced no sensible effect on
| the earths motions The comets OF l742 and
l76O, also came very near the earth; yet their
attractions produced no sensible effect ON the
earth's motions. Also the comet Of l770 came
very near the satellites of Jupiter, but produced
no arrangement in the system.
This. we hope, will quiet the minds Of those
who suffer under the apprehension of being flap
ped out of the regions of space by the tail OF
comet in 1888. We must quote the notice OF
shooting stars or ,neteors before taking leave of
this very excellent little volume:
The luminous appearances, known by the name
Of shooting stars, are too common not to have
been seen by most Of the persons for whom this
book is designed. But as frequent as they are,
the phenomenon is not well understood. Some
imagine that they are occasioned by electricity,
and others that they are nothing but luminous
gas, perhaps phosphoretted hydrogen. Others
have again supposed that some of them are lumin-
Gus bodies which accompany our planet in its re-
volution about the sun, and that their return to
certain places might be calculated with as much
certainty and exactness as that Of any of the CO.
| NETS.
Signior Baccaria supposed they are accustomed
| BY electricity. His opinion is confirmed by the
| following observations: About an hour after sum
| set, he and some friends that were with MIN OBJ
served falling star. directing its course directly
towards them, apparently growing larger and lar
ger. but just before it reached them it disappear
ed. On vanishing. their faces, hands and clothes,
with the earth and all the neighboring objects,
| became suddenly Illuminated with diffused and
| lambert light. 1t was attended with no noise
During their surprise at this appearance, a SER
| want informed them that he had seen light shine
suddenly IN the garden, and especially upon the
streams which be was throwing to waterit
Baccaria also observed quantity of electric
matter collect around his kite, which had very
much the appearance Of falling star Some
| times he saw kind Of halo accompanying the
kite, as it changed its place, leaving some glim-
mering of light in the place it had quilted.
Shooting stars have been supposed by those me
teorolosists who refer them to electricity or lu-
minous gas, to prognosticate alterations in the
weather, such as rain, wind, &c. The duration
of the brilliant track which they leave behind
them, in their motion through the air, will be
found to be longer or shorter, according as waite
ry vapor abounds in the atmosphere.
On the 18th of November, 1899, there was
seen very remarkable exhibition of shooting
stars at Cumana, in South America, and over
most of the West India Islands. The following
account of 1t Is from the pen of a gentleman who
witnessed it. He says . was called up about
three O'Clock in the morning, to see the shooting
of stars, as it is called The phenomenon was
grand and awful. The whole heavens appeared
as if illuminated with sky rockets, which disap.
peared only by the light the sun after daybreak.
These meteors appeared as numerous as the stars,
flying in all possible directions, except from the
earth, towards which they all inclined more or
isce and some Of thprn descended nprppp 1ruIar