New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1866-11-12
THE METEORIC SHOWER.

--THB PHILOSOPHY OF THE METEoRIo SHOWER.
The great meteoric shower Of 1888, which many
persons now living saw and which all have heard described as
sight surprising beauty and awful submity 10 70 % TO
peated between midnight and morning Of morrow OF "eu
nesday the theories OF astronomers are not at iau
The return Of this extraordinary celestial phenomenon
awaited with excited interest by scientific men, and ell
cAsses cannot fail be impressed with the expectation Oh
uch glorious spectacle the sudden illumination Of tne
nghsky by grand display Of celestial fireworks executed IN
profound silence and extending the whole armament In
Boston Board Of Aldermen at their last meeting requested
the supen ndent Of the Fire Alarm to notify the people oil
Boston Of the predicted display in It occurs by
striking the alarm and would meet the wishes OF tens oil
thousands Of people in city some similar plan should
BE- adopted authorities though doubt most OF these
vii choose t. stay up all night TO make Of this sight OF
lifetime.
The phenomenon Of shoo stars familiar every as
there are but few nights the year when more cannot
be- seer somewhere In the heavens has long been known
times hundreds in one night On the 9th and 10th Of August
and l2h and 18th Of November Of every year small showers
Beside the periodical character Of this phenomenon has
been noted hat on each occasion OF me,eore apy as
dlvegs from particular conste1auonsLthe A1gI
shower IRON DC star B. Cdmecpardah, and the November
shower from he star GGPHs Lson one Of the stars forming
Further Investigation Of this phenomenon has led % the
discovery Of 5S Pod 81 :" ~ S.a5s Which separate
the reeuren O eI,rsordnAI ne,eoric slower o1.
the A. ID. A ID ~ OF
are recorded separated from each other by intervals Of % and
% years TIC last two occurred In November lSS ana IN
II il not little remarkable that the epoch Of these great peri
ode showers coincide with the annual November shower ana
deed the phenomenon q long period differs ron that Of the
nual period, only In its numerical character . .
What the Of this phenomenon and Its diversity
There theory which satisfactorily explains all the Oh
served phenomena This theory npposes that lhee AN In
lying close each other forming ring which Dtereets the
caRs orbit places and that the earth passes through
the points the 9th and 10th Of August and on the
iSh aud 18th 4 November Annually When the earth punges
into tins meeo stream on these occasions he OF
toong stars place The inequality Of numbers Is ses
aeory accounted for by pposng the meteos distributed 10
groups the meteoc ring heearh encounerlng ayas group
whosa revolution such that meets the earth but once Ia 50
Attention was first directed this periodic return Of tho
meeorc showers occasion OF the prodgous swarm which
appeared in North between the 18th and 18th Of No
yenbeT le33 described by Professor oms,ed Of Sew &
Der estimated Of In the space Of nine hours ana
varying n se rom %oyas P'9 81 ost oeTy
ton msde hat they all appeared TO proceed nou n lans
quarter Of The heavens The vicinity namely Oh we star h
changed greatly rs hight and aSmnih dnng me me that te
they continued lgs ~, V IN t vas The
very direction which the earth was moving In her orot a
% e Md wns o,pyed with surprise that several OF the
kae had occurred the same day OF November
bS obryer, over great cItent Of The earth The NoycH-
Der again observed In the United States IN 4
between the 18Th and l4th though less intense Iougn Ce
has REQUIRED with spch regularity both m America anu EuOpe
ssto establish ~ periodic character 100. .,,n.,,,,,c.nv
into the consideration Of tho subject the result OF Nheh was an
ss. general results Of bi inv obligations were
That the me.eOrs Of 1893 had their origin beyond hehmis
tour atmosphere for tho source Of tbe me1eo dJ not p
take OF the earth notion which demonstrate rum va
| rety Of circumstance.
That hsAto Of the place shenoe the meeors emanated
above surface Of The earth about % mea his was
ascernned from comparison OF different observations nade
in different places and from thgonomereai calculations
The meteor zen toward the earth being attracted to 1t by
TS@v ie Tow ard the earth in straight lines aud in dee
ons which WAh considerable distances were pafaie Win
Tbcy entered the Earth atmosphere with velocity equal
70 about four ms per second more THAI 10 times gIea'sI
than The, usg.a velocity Of cannon oe'l anu ap"'' %
The ms,sors consisted Of combustbe matter ard took
aud consumed In avsrsg the atmosphere They were
eEnsnished N manner resembling eombostble body like
s rocket That hey took Ore In the was inferred
G% 1S . ae % me SH body ' Whence they
That the larger must have been bodies Of
great Of them appearing larger than the g moon
been mile 10 diameter at IS miles one half mile at y
miles oneGh Of mile at a miles one.twenteih OF mile
That The metsors constituted light and transparent
materials for they had been Otherwise the momentum
through atmosphere the surface Of the earth and II they
geher In their original state without being visible by rejected
light ,'
the me,eoc shower sustain TO the earhr Prof Omsiead de-
voted thought the result Of which that the meieos
consisted Of portions Of the extreme parts Of nebuous body
which reyose around the orbit interior 20 that OF the
earth but little Inclined to the plane OF the ecpe having us
sPheoh near 10 tAe esrh path and havlg periodic time OF
remaining long stationary with respect 10 the earth
and TO lis own satisfaction at least the questions
WHY The phenomenon In particular part Of the
heavens and Why stated periods having appeared
Mocha in Arabia just one year preceding and In manner
Prof Omstead supported in his theory by the opinion
crt.ned by Arago the subject This philosopher supposed
of hOdeg Of uehulOus
ter similar the tails Of comets circulating round The sun In
zone s sSd ina, .o@s
by tbs earths aracen fall toward IT, and taking
hTe they enter the atmosphere in consequence Of their
treat velocity present the luminous phenomenon Of falling
The body bodies whence these meieos proceed he
eonsdoed as In rapid motion performing
,n sToupd he am n some plane different from ina, in the
earh orbit and that the apparent course OF the meteors III
be necessarily compounded BY this motion and Of the earth
Ia was the opinion Deccara that eteorc showers were
by eleccy and 20 substantiae as far as possible
this hypothesis be presented the following facts He and some
iend. about an hour after observed falling star
which appeared to come directly toward them and increasing
reached them II disappeared dnsed and lambert nght
suddenly Illuminated his face and the faces and hands of his
ends During their surprise al this manifestation
appeared and informed them that be had light shine sud
had been sprsIsg upon tie plots These facts confirmed
Beccara In belief that meeofs were OF electrical origin
have their origin at very considerable elevation above the
earth Brydone Witnessing meeore display from the SUN.
NIT Of Noun, Etna has said that from that elevation the
eteos appeared DO FAR distant from the earth when
seen nom base Of the mountain which ample proof 70
him the fact that they m regions much beyond the
bounds OF tho earth's atmosphere
Phenomens greatly resembling that which witnessed in
s occurred az several periods prior thereto In 1850
shower Of fire. twas called e In South America The
msteOo display great IN Quito that the inhabitants be-
eyed The focan6 Of Gayambo TO be In flames The people
assembled Ia plain Of BXco and procession about 10
sci ont In Consequence from the Convent OF ST. Francis when
A. Vas discovered That the phenomenon OceasOned not BY
the volcano but BY necos which shot the skies IN
every direction.
On the night the 18th ofNovembe l770 extensive
and phenomenon occurred Humboldt has described
this spectacle aud according his testimony occurred toward
the morning when thousands Of eOdes fire balls or
falling stars vaTiousy denomnad succeeded each
other during four hoursther direction being from north TO
south They In the horizon at east followed the
direction Of meridian and fell toward the South There