Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1838-05-24
FoR THE ADVERTISER :

'eo "" hihtary aHairs, and printed.
lFoR THE ADrERTIsERI
MIR. f:di'or-Therc appeared in vour m
per ot May the I'd, scientific comnupica-
''on' signed fhantasmagoria, which was
AT hrst ra'her inclined to regard as hoax.
but The neat, elegant and sober lanpuorc
in which the communication wns conrha;
rs well as the effect it has had unon Tho
community, both go to teach me that Wa
mistaken, and that the author intended tho
Opinions there advanced as legitimate de-
duc'ions from sound scientific priucinIes
ana that they have hecn so received hv
many ot his readers. hope he will tberc,
'ore excuse me FOR attempting 10 show
that his opinions will no, bear strict an,Iv.
Sis. and that they are utterly at variance
with the generally received principle, of
science. He says tha, on the nirb of tho
22h OF April, he saw splendid phenomc-
non. resembling shooting star, in the con-
stella'Ion Hercules. Ii commenced Ceu.
degrees west of Vcga-Lyra, shooting ~ n
perfectly straight line, and ending abrup,ly
III the remarkable ncbula, between Mn and
Zeta Hercules. The circumstance Of ,ho
meteor having swept through the heavens
IN perfectly straight line, and being snd.
denly arrested by the nebua in Hercules.
nc regards as sufficient ground to Justify
tim III supPoslns II not to have been an or
dihary meteor, but probably comet. whose
centre O! revolution was some one or all of
the STARS constituting that remarkable ne
Dula; anu he happened to see il at the mo-
nent when IT lost its centrifugal force. and
suffered the greati catastrophe of heinz
o'u"n 10 us centre of revolution. and aE
Soroea: In order to prove that this wos M.
,n H." o'',,"ay meteor, he says, ii is a general
ie"' 'heV describe curved lines with n
the motion of the body in question u,s ~. =.
a straight line. divcrging Upwards from,
iihe parallel TO the plain of The horiznn ,,d
FORMING win II an angle of some 9 or IN
"eerceS. NOW Ill this opinion the writer ;s
Ger AMY mistaken, as this law holds o,n,,,a
no other class OF ceors excep,ipr ,I,.,
c'a.s caied meteoTites or falling s,o,ev
which always descend in an ohlionc J;roo
'ion. or in curved lines will, down,.an,,
tendency towards the earth: bu, ,b,, cI.'
OF meteors called '.shooin. stars SoIdon'
u ever descend in curved lines. but traverse
INC heavens IN all possible directions. in
apparently straight lines. They descend
10 oe sure, towards the earth, but then thr;r
descent IS always i'll straight lines. rho
ce!eDratcd meteor observed by CavaIlo n,
'hasor' August the 18th, 1888, was nor.
maps the most remarkable Witnessed =,
modern times. II commenced in H., ,t
west. and terminated in the south ems, 49,.
v'crsinS Il vast section of the heavens i,
direction nearly parallel to the HORIZON
l. ms celebrated philosopher compu,ed rho
diStancc Oh the meteor at its nearest min,
10 windsor at l3O miles. the length Of ,br
PAIN II described in the heavens =, ESo
i''lies, the diameter Of the luminous bnd,.
at 1910 yards, its hoight above tho sur,,cs
OF the earth At 564 miles; and almos, MI ,,,o
srca' tnc'cors appear ID have had abour Tho
same elevation, but in ali the records oc,nc-
'rorIc showers, find no mention made of
their descending in curved lines Sbowe1s
o' me''ors have fallen in April and No
Vomher IN all ages of the world. Tboo.
Pi'ahcs SAM that Ill the year 472, in Novem-
per- near Constantinople, The sky appeared
~ !" NC OH IRE win the coruscatons Of the
ly'nS me'eors. Mr.. Ellicott, on the 18Th
y, ., NoVemncr. i799, witnessed, between
cape Florida and the West Indies. n sn,en-
lid display of mctcors, and the so,n. ,,.n
also witnessed by the celebrated Nunhni,
and Nj. Bompland, in South America
ihcy sometimes appear in great numbers
III the sky over the mouths of yoIcanos.
witnessed myself the celebrated dispIov of
'neteors which took place the 18Th of No
'emocf' 1883, and | saw nothing Of tho
curved lines OF which the writer speaks
and hence conclude there was nothing in
IN meteor observed by the writer TO distin-
guish il from ordinary meteors of that class.
excepting ii was perhaps little more brill
liant than usual.
Now lef us examine whar arc the proba-
'iI'ties OF i'S having been a comet, the cen.
re &c +" whose revelation was the nchr!n Of
Hercules; and first lei us consider the nrn'
'ahlc distance Of that nehu!a from ,h;s cn-,b
SIRIUS which IS thought by Philosophers
% b" tho nearest fixed star. is. accordino 70
, mean OF the calculations Of DR.. Herschcl,
Blot and DIR. Brewster, ut leas, ,wen,v
million of millions of miles from this ea,,b.
distance so great, that if il were 10 fall
towards US at the rate Of million of miles
per day, 1t would take it l3 300 wears TO
'"ach us. A ray of light. travelling ut the
'a'c of 100000 miles second, woald nor
each US from tho peares, rcd star il, thru,