Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1866-01-04

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continually occur at the same times, it must
1 be admitted that the earth, carried along in
space, meets at the same points masses Of
corpuscles, disseminated in the planetary
space, and on this an ingenious hypothesis
has been made Il is supposed that these
asteroids are distributed upon an immense
ring, of which the sun is the center, along
which they follow one another, each one
accomplishing individually, like a little
/ planet, regular rev olution around the SUM-
The earth passes through this great mass on
the 10th Of August, and then all the COR
puscles passing near us will be seen circu-
lating in our atmosphere. A circumstance
not yet perfectly determined, but generally
| believed by all the observers, increases the
veri similitude of this hypothesis; that is,
/ that on the 10th Of August the greater part
Of the shooting stars seem to come from the
same point ainl the sky, either Cassiopea,
/ Cepheus, or the ram. According to one in
vestigator, this great ring Of corpuscles has.
a diameter nearly eqnal to that OF the ter
/ restrial orbit, toward which it inclines at
an angle of $50. 1t is from 100000 to
~, 900, 900 miles in thickness, and is COM
! posed of 5000 millions of corpuscles, re-
| volving around the sun in 28l days. Sup
/ posing that each of them was 81 feet in cir
conference and that they were united to-
gether in single sphere, it would hardly
lave a tenth of the size of the earth.
The trajectories of meteors have been
calculated, and it has been proved that these
| fiery globes describe hyperbolas. A meteor
4 that burst over the North Sea in March,
1863, was calculated, and was found to have
hyperbolic trajectory, with initial and
final heights of 1913 and IA miles, and We
! locity Of 81. 1t is certain in all these cases
that have been studied that the appearances
are caused by true asteroids coming from
celestial spaces, which enter the atmosphere,
where they describe hyperbolas, and are
carried with velocity comparable to the
planets themselves. - f~4fe
By the aid of the electric telegraph the
trajeetories Of shooting stars have been cal
culated, and it is proved that they are, ex-
cept in size, yeritable meteors, hurled into
space st the rate of many thousands of miles
second, and infaming in the atmosphere.
When one of these masses, travelling with
| its immense velocity, meets the atmosphere,
It encounters resistance that diminishes its
speed-a resistance which, on account of
the rapidity of movement Of the meteor, is
very considerable, and would almost COM
| pletely destroy, after ten seconds, the move
ment of aball having an initial velocity Of
| sixty-two miles per second. Assuming that
meteor has lost only hundredth part Of
! its velocity through this cause, it must have
/ created an amount of heat that can be
accurately calculated, which is employed in
warming either the meteor or its surround
ing air But this is sufficient to raise the
temperature 5000 deg, surprising that it
is not dif'used by radiation, and 5000 deg.
only if it assumed to have escaped as soon
as produced The real increase of temper
AZURE is therefore comprised between 5000
deg and $4,000 deg, and is far beyond
what can be artifcially produced. Under
4 these conditions the meteor melts, and it's
surface is covered with that CLASSY varnish
characteristic Of aerolites. Not only does it
melt, but at 5000 deg. iron and carbon
! burn, casting out sparks, and all known
substances are reduced to incandescent
vapors.
| If of small size, as is usually the case,
the stone is entirely consumed; shooting
star is seen which becomes smoke, and all
is over. When it is larger, it lasts longer
and has more extended course. 1t drives
before it the beds of air it meets, which are
I IL
/ descent. For contrary reason vacuum
is left behind where the anterior air rushes,
passing over the surface Of the meteor,
which is enveloped in an atmosphere Of
igneous vapor. The circumstance deserves
consideration, for it removes much appre-
tension We are not illuminated by the
solid mass, but by the fiery atmosphere of
the meteor; this l. is that attains such
| Io !, II
is inconlparably smaller. This atmosphere
soon as the velocity of the meteor
no catastrophe to chronicle, and why the
fragments are almost always small
AS the meteor congresses the air, this
resists, and by reaction presses on its ante
rior face. An investigation of hurricanes
will give an approximate valuation of this
force. At their highest point they attain a
velocity of 15l feet per second, with pres
sure of al pounds per square foot. The
pressure would be the same if meteorite a
foot square were thrown with equal velocity
into motionless air; but if, instead of u
velocity of 131 feet it has one Of 131, 000,i
the pressure increases in an enormous pro-
portion; at height of 5000 feet it is
/ equal to 700 atmospheres--ap pressure which
only iron can resist without being crushed.
But these conditions being similar to those
undergone by the meteor Of the 14th of
May, this must have sustained a compare
bic pressure, and consequently have sudden
ly flown into pieces, like stone thrown
again wall AT the moment Of this dis
! ruption the flaming atmosphere disap-
peared, and one could touch with his finger
the so stones, weighing about 20 pounds,
that had caused this great uproar. But
small as they are, they are fraught with
precious. information; they bring us the
substances that compose the stars, and
show that to its ultimate bounds the luate-
rial world is composed of substances similar
to those found on earth They contain the
metals that Kirchhoff discovered in the sun,
together with carbon, ammonia, and chic
rum, which escaped the spectral analysis.
1t is known that the temperature dimin-
ishes according to the distance from the
ground, and that it must be very low in
celestial spaees--how low can be aseertained
from the aerolites. Some are almost en-
tirely composed Of iron-a good conductor
and the enormous heat that has melted the
surface thus passing inward, they reach the
earth resembling red-hot shot. But this
does not hold good for aerolites composed of
earthly substances, through whose mass heat
is Slowly transmitted; the surface alone is
warmed during their very short passage
through the atmosphere, and the cold that
/ they retain internally returns to the surface
after they fall THUS, stones that fell re-
Gently in the Punjaub chilled the hands Of
the persons who attempted to pick them up.
But measurement of the temperature Of
the center Of these meteorites is important,