, 1861-11-22
4 startling DIacsvery In the S,rar
SyateM1.

| lftom Inc JoEfnA Of CammeTca1
| ~ Ne haVe before uB some sheets frou, th,
NoFemper number Of the ANerican Journal q,
6efe,see and Atts, which contain two yerv ;r;'
which He noT iallude: L The obserYatioas
o1 ffot. THlniBg on the periodic meteore hi
August and 3. The August Risg OF Meteorx'
By Prof q A. Newtsn.
It may noH be regarded - a new and stars-
nng 1eature q, the solar system, that there il
lotlon- The recurrence Of the meteoric dis.
play In August OF? esch year, is expI.iued H.
ths 1act l. hat the earth passes, at that tins
torough the ring, 6nd the contact of ita forms..
Hons with, ,our atmosphere renders them Vii.
ete y commission. The srticle Of Pro
tttor Newton is specially valuable and In
terestiog, ~ presenting the fact that fha IN.
cnnanon Of the the ring to the ecliptic has been
measured, and SO far fixed IS to fandar II ~.
tain that the meteors Of other tuoWn annna1
recurrence, cannot belong to the sans rinr
Nnei1ef other rlngs exist or not remains 70
1e,daS ee T. ont tAae 1or the present may be re-
galaed 9s asceItslned, that . metootic rinr.
VAN az INCLINATION Of from 81 to 9e deg, e.
The ecIptc, and with perIodic time ff al
Gays, actually furms and Important mart nf ,he
eoiar syete1n that tha world passes thronoh
this ring annually in August, and is geTerai
oa3g In passing from side to side, so that its
thiskness Is five to ten millions Of rn3ias
The general reader will perhsns unders.a-d
tals discovery better by placing it in very aIm.
Pie language. Most PERSONS ara aira.dv
familiar with the fact that neteora. or shnoi
lIg stare, as they are often called, are annuaIIv
snible u great Quantities during Tho mouth
q august on certain nighta. On any ons Of
me sky, Moy count from one to two hu7dre3
q them u an hsur Or two. It may now he
taken as m ascertxined fact In n5trsnonv IN a.
tEets mefeoTs, which coEafst Of various aaio-
eiale, ate lew, out Of many millions Of mil.
nens, H1ics ate located in great ring, that
enfro1nos the sun, and is al regular in lis re-
yo1ution "a the earth or any pIaaet Pcnf
NeRton, taktnE one nsrHings o5servatioo.
ms8es rough calca}atfop, that ther. ~
more than So0, cor, COX, 900 Of these bodies in a
risg; - .
eatuin, ana wonders whether this nctsoric
ring In any manner resembles that. me tes-
@copac power Of new instruments las al.
reasJ resolved that most beautiful pheuome-
non OF he he4rena, into zeries Of fisgR. IN
STEAD Of one 1iag only. It's substance Is m.
kne"n+ II nay be coz jectured that tia loose
aaa scattered masses which liz in tho solar
neg, and which are, perhaps, too far apart to
present aTen nebulous appoarance t. an eh.
server On distant planet OF star. uaY haYe
taetr countsrpart In the compact and brilIisnt
a1acs Mnich autronnd the planet Httura. Bat
speeaiau9ns OF this Bind are very crude In tho
< =
and Ne recur to our first remarks, that new
and startling discoveries like this on1y seryA
70 fhoW =. how little We actually know Of The
secrets Of immeneity.
1t t. inst half q century slnca the Nebu1ar
hypothesis Of Sir, Vim. Hersckel startled fha
thinking world, and for long time scientific
men believed the theory OF growing sun6ao1
panets, formed the most impai psb{e; matter
acfumulattDg around centrea Of revolution.
Inc koss telescope resolving nearly all the
knoWn neonlR into groups Of stars exploded
tb2t Theory. and the HestmieHer Rsyfest ia tbe
last Of fte defenders. But from attemptin1
70 enter the eecret places: Of Coda creative
power, which, as ne have already remarked.
aye closed to human fEgzexa, It now seems as
II the human Intellect 1ihy possibly be- Der.
1n1ttkd to learn something Of tho hdstofy Of
the decay Of euns. and gtafs. L uttIa Thtle
sgo Ne learned that wIde spaee ia our oTn
system, where p1auet might kaye found Its
place, there were vast asteroids, whose num
btr We Ere year1y Increasing, which follow, Is
It were, in the orbit Of the last planeta, lka
fragments Of an exploded sphere. -
and now, re have this ring Of meteoric
ood.Se, lying IN 90 orbit around the solsr cen.
He tna oroit Hse1f BY some cousulaion hurled
ous n ais place, 60 that our Own planet now
PaHes through it; astf, in eume fofmerpsioa
planet bad rushed haming along its. course
OF destruction, and vanished, leaving its track
Marked forever after with the streNu ftag-
.nEnte OF its material
aa&nefto we have searcked epsce for stsKa
End planets Hereafter, possibly We NAV
LOOK successfully here ind there kmoux the
Vstt host of heaven for the runs Of plsrets
ard s5stems which hare accomplished the|r
masatoa4 .ad whose fEes have burned low md
gone oas N fenote and unknown periods. - :,