Washington telegraph., 1853-12-14

moon presents to us the aspect Of mountains
Of great height and containing numerous
and immense craters. The stones might be
projected thence (no atmospheric pressure
existing TO retard their progresS) with force
enough to depass the limits Of the moon \
attraction and TO come within that Of the
earth. According to these calculations a
velocity FIVE or six times as great as that Of
a ball issuing from the mouth of cannon
would be necessary TO produce such a result
This lunar theory. to say the least Of it. has
remained stationary Even with our pres
ent powerful telescopes TO proof has ever
been obtained Of present volcanic action in
the moon, and it has been calculated by
Olbers and other distinguished astronomers
(and We believe not disputed) that the ini-
tial velocity at the moon TO satisfy this con-
dtition must be twelve or fourteen times
greater than that assigned by Laplacc and
that, even if this projectle force existed,
The masses would not be cast upon the earth,
but would revolve in orbits round the sun.
Still another hypothesis is that which sup.
pose these aerolites to be smaller fragments
Of that presumed ancient planet between
Mars and Jupiter, the disruption Of which
has produced the numerous small PLANETS
or asteroids whose eccentric orbits crowd
each other in this part of the heavens
This belief was confirmed BY the late discov-
cry Of eleven others in the same interplana-
tary space, some of them so small rs 10 defy
exact admeasurement and if these were
truly fragments Of larger BODY, might we
not reasonably infer that the disruptivc force
VIII \
into space numerous fragments still smaller.
and might not some of their orbits be such
rs TO bring them within attraction of the
earth ? Like the lunar hypothesis, this re-
mains mere speculation. If there be 9th
er portions Of matter revolving round the
sui. fragmentary or otherwise, it Is easy to
conceive that the progressive motion Of the
earth may bring il into such proximity TO
their numerous and eccentric orbits as to
cause them to defect more or less from their
course. as we know to be sometimes the case
with comets while III tile vicinity OF large
planet, some actually impinging upon the
earth, others simply becoming luminous
through certain arcs Of their orbits. Ne.
teorites, according to this view, approach
nearest the character and condition Of com
cts. This coSnicai theory has Of late wears
taken The lead Of all other hypotheaes
The meteoric globes or fireballs are those
in closest connection with aerolites, mas
much as we have well attested instances of
stones falling at the time Of such appear
ances and in sequel TO explosions which
would seem to render assunder larger vol
nmes Of matter. They appear to move in
the areas Of great circles. Their apparent
disk sometimes exceeds that Of the full
moon, giving at the height of 10 miles
diameter of mile. Their height is oSen
far beyond the limits Of our atmosperc
Their velocity approximate es 10 that of the
planets. and their visible duration seldom
exceeds few seconds Taking these me-
teors in connexion with falling stones, the
probability il that they are always assoeiat-
ed with some form Of matter analogous to
that Of known aerolites but which usually
escapes detection either BY falling out Of
human sight. or by the passage forward Of
the meteor in its orbit without precipitation
Of its contents
In the year 1907 one Of these globes Of
hre was seen to pass over portion Of Con-
necticut. This was carly in the morning
II exploded with a noise Ike a cannon,
which was followed by a rushing sound
through the air. Immediately after several
large stones fell in the town of Weston,
striking the earth with frightful concus-
sion. and producing quite commotion
among the cattle One large fragment.
several hundred pounds in weight, is still
preserved at Yale College. in New Haven.
The diameter Of the meteor was estimated
to be about mile
The subject Of shooting stars differs some
what from the phenomena already described,
though manifcstlv connected with it in vari-
Gus ways. Their most important peculiari-
ties are their usually small size, their great
frequency, the arcs they describe. their
frequent occurrence in showers, and the OBJ
served periodicity of certain of these .latter
occurrences. The periodicity Of the show
ers j. as yet regarded as the point Of great
est interest the researches into this subject
have as yet achieved very imperfect results.
During an extraordinary apparition Of me-
teors on the nights Of the 18th and 18th of
November, 1888. 1t was observed that the
asteroids composing the fiery shower and
which were Of all sizes, from the shooting
star to phosphorescent globes Of the moons
diameter, invariably proceeded from sin
gle point in the constellation Leo, and con-
tinued to recede from that point, though the
rotation Of the earth had greatly changed its
apparent place in the hearens, thus showing
to all common origin. and indicating the
approach Of the earth in its orbit to some
other revolving body. visible only BY the
changes made by this approximation. On
the same nights during several succeeding
years a recurrence of the shower was observ-
ca. and 1t has since been found that Novem-
Der i not the sole period Of the recurrence
of such phenomena. certain times in April,