The weekly Panola star. [volume] (Panola, Miss.) 1857-1881, 1866-11-10
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lHfrt amnr lheu Professor OIm
tel. fsining and NtNion have
written yaluable papers w connection
with w.
The appearance N shooting Htr.
is quito rrmmon, lmt IN the mnnlhs
of august and November n each
year they me seen IN great numbers,
generally about lhe 10Th ~ August
and the i2lh nf November The
gfcni motenfic shower ~ 1909 sccm.
10 have drawn the attention NJ "
tronomera more particularly 10 this
subject, aud from that time 10 the re-.
cuffcnrc uf the mctpofie showers IN
1881 and up 10 the present day they
have been endcayoring 10 refer the
liIlcrent phases aud characteristics Of
the phenomenon 10 known lnws, and
to establish the exact anniversary oi
IT, appearance,
thus Tar The more brilliant Of
these metcoric showers have occurred
At intervals ol thirty-thrcc year.
that Of 1888 was especially disiin-
guishcd by the immense number Of
moving mctcors 10 be seen at once,
and for the remarkable size and
splcndor Of many OF them. Among
the myriads Of blazing mctcors visi-
bic on that occasion, one was seen at
several places on this continent II
was recognized by several observers
hy its extraordinary size aud bril-
lancy, as well as by the length of
time lis train remained visible, which
was about ten minutes. The lumin-
aus train seemed TO follow the me-
tcor in n serpentine course, and
finally disappeared in vast nebulous
cloud, many times larger than the
moon, and which continued TO move
onward with q velocity greater than
the clouds.
The mctcoric displays Of 1889 aud
1898 were characterized by the fall
Of metcoritcs, which, rushing toward
the surface of the earth with loud
noise, penetrated beneath il several
feet. The periodicity of these starry
,owcrs is not so definitely asccr-
tanned with regard to the day as To
the year. They have occurred To a
greater or less degree in the months
of August and November, from 1881
To 1899; but the most remarkable
of them have appeared on the 18th
of November, or between that date
md the lith.
The next appearance of the me-
tcoric phenomenon, therefore, is cx-
pectcd on or about the 18th of next
month. The observations Of astron.
omcrs have demonstrated that thu
shooting stars are more numerous be-
tween midnight and sunrise, and th,
majority Of them agree in fixing III,
radiant point--that point in which
the lines described by the meteor,
in their fight center-in the constel.
lation Leo, limiting the area Of radia-
iion to the immediate vicinity o
Regulus, in the neck of the lion
Others assign the radiant point Il
| the constellation Orion.
The theory most generally acceptec
in accounting for the regular recur
renee of mctcoric showers, is that Al
unusual aggregation Of these aste
roids exists in the plane which !
reached By the earth at that point o
its orbit, and though the earth i
several hours in passing, observation
have not been sufficiently numcrou
to establish the exact period of tn
earth arriving at this part Of is orbit
During the fight Of meteors in No
vembcr, 1888, much apprehension
was manifested that one or more O
these asteroids would come into col
lision with the earth; but hithert
no disastrous consequences have en-
sued from this grand celestial displa,
and although there is some reason {
believe that an event Of this kind
possible, scientific men unite in III
: opinion that such a calamity is n,
within the bounds Of probability.