New Orleans daily crescent., 1866-11-12
METEORS.

II
arrest attention Of the scientific world, and !" y
which furnished data upon which some y
astronomical hypothesis haveI a,
1een superposed. This grand exhibition ex- C
ended from the Northern lakes of America to is
The South of Jamaica, and from 81 degrees OF b
longitude in the Atlantic, to 100 degrees OF
longitude in Central Mexico Mrs. Somer-
Vile says that shooting stars and meteors of
the apparent size of Jupiter, Venus and even
the full moon, darted in myriads toward the
horizon, as if all the stars in the heavens had
started from their spheres. They are de-
scribed as having been frequent as flakes OF
snow in a snow storm, and to have been seen
with equal brilliancy over the greater part OF
the continent Of North America
We refer to this phenomenon to-day, be
cause the computations of astronomers, based
on the phenomena Of these and other SINH
lar asteroidal displays, fix the 18th and 18th
of November Of this year. for the recurrence
Of this grand celestial exhibition. In 1881
and 1882, and likewise in 1884, 1885 and 1886,
the 18th of November was signalized by me-
teoric showers. In all of these cases obserya-
ton showed that the source of the meteorie
shower was altogether independent Of the
earths rotation, and that its position was far
above the earths atmosphere. OF course it is |
unnecessary to state here the process by
which these conclusions are reached 1t is
sufficient for the purpose that they are indis-
putably settled. What then are meteors and
aeroites? The favorite scientific conjecture
now is that they are bodies revolving around
the sun in immense numbers, and in plane
which cuts that of the earths orbit in Noye1n
Der and april. At such times the nearest of
these little planets would be brought within
the sphere of the earths attraction, which, by
reason of proximity, -oyercomes that Of the
sun, and the bodies thus affected would rush
towards the earth with tremendous velocity.
On entering the terrestrial atmosphere they
become ignited in. consequence of the loss Of
motion caused by atmospheric resistance or
friction, since the development of molecular
} motion or heat, is always in direct ratio to
> the extinguishment Of mechanical motion or
the motion of masses. The small and very
combustible bodies are almost Immediately
l consumed by the intense heat thus generated,
r and are dissipated into vapor. These are me-
: teors. The larger and more refractory are
g precipitated on the earth's surface. These
, are aerolites.
t So numerous are these cosmical atoms, or
! asteroids, as Arago calls them, that, in all
probability, the interplanetary spaces are
swarning with them. 1t is computed that the
5 number which come near the earth in the
| course of a year, must amount to many thou
> sand millions; and the total of those which
move round the sun, must, on the cal
culus Of probabilities approach the infinite.
1t is presumed, in fact, that the additions
made to the earth by the falling of aerolites,
will finally appreeiably augment the mass of
, Of our globe and thus affect the length of the
terrestrial day.
Professor Olmsted, of Yale College, more
than thirty years ago, eonjeetured that the
phenomenon Of shooting stars originated in
the zodiacal light. DR., Mayer, of Heilbronn,
has since given more precision to this hypo-
thesis, and has implicated it in the great doc.
trine Of the Correlation of forces DR.
Mayer supposes that immense numbers o
aerolites continually come within the bound
a Of the solar system, being gathered up as ou
/ system trayerses the vast regions of space to
e wards the constellation Hercu1es-the poin
y on which astronomers have fixed as tina
II towards which our sun is tending. The resis
J tanee Of the interstellar ether acts mucl
more powerfully on these small bodies thar
on the immense masses of the planets
: and they consequently tend more or les
rapidly towards the sun, in the yicinit,
: Of which they are crowded in vast numbers, ant
on whose surface they are continually falling
to renew, by the extinguishment of their me
chanical motion, the heat and light which th
. sun is constantly expending. The genera
form of this asteroidal mass, or nebula 0
!, cosmical atoms, is that Of great convex lens
and as its plane Of rotation is nearly coinci
j dent with that of the earth, we look through
through it edgewise and see its center risin
y around the sun like pyramid Of light. Thi
). is the zodiacal light-a phenomenon whicl
= has been a guestio Uerdtd with astronomers
{ but which appears now to be satisfactorily &C
! counted for by DR.. Mayors hypothesis. Thi
"a theory has the additional merit of making a.
q attempt at least to explain the origin and cor
stancy of the suns heat 1t may not be unir
teresting to state, in this connection, that it
computed that the fall Of an asteroid or aerolit
: into the sun would generate from 1900 to 920
! times as much heat as would be developed b
! the combustion of an equal amount of Goa
y The immense numbers of these little bodies
! small as they are would suffice TO keep up til
u suns heat to its present temperature as lon
y as the process continues. Thus the thermf
effects Of the mechanical action of the un
y verse, even as illustrated by those little me
y teors which dart through our midnight sky
y far surpass anything that can be conceived {
!, the most energetic chemical processes.
LIZ
MoNARcHs WILL KILL THEMSELVES BY GLU,
al ToNY.-The homicidal attempts of the Atant
telegraph upon the life of the emperor of Franc
s are likely to come to grief, as he manifess no di
IN position to crafty the sensational propensities
m the cable by dying at this time.
rs There can we imagine however, be no doubt
u the fact that the health of Louis Napoleon hi
IL been gradually failing for many months, and tht
al long before his son emerges from his minorit,
ri the imperial father will have passed away.
early life the emperor was not exempt from thos
vices which tell terribly in middle age, and a met