Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1868-11-15
The MetOrIe DispIay-A Brilliant
GnOvvaN

Between the hours Of two and four
o'clock yesterday morning, the heavens in
the east, southeast and southwest were
brilliantly lit up by numerous meleors.
following each other in quick succession.
A young gentleman employed on the
Nashville and Northwestern Railroad re-
ports that after the arrival of his train. and
while walking to his home in South Nash.
vile, about four o'clock, he witnessed the
diplay, which he thinks lasted upwards of
half an hour. The butchers in the market
house saw the grand phenomenon at an
earlier hour, and gentleman reports to US
that be noticed a number of meteors as
early as halfpast nine o'clock on Friday
night Last year this display was wit
messed on the morning of the fourteenth of
November, although ithas been stated that
the period of their annual recurrence has
been almost uniformly between the 18th
and 18th.
The radical point from which these
showers appear 10 issue, says a writer, is 10
the constellation Leo, that one of the con-
stellations of the Zodiac to which the earth
in this part of its orbit is directly moving.
1t may be seen above the horizon, in a d.
rection nearly east, after midnight. 1t is
not to be understood that the mete ors pro-
coed in fact from the constellation, but that
they are in the same line of vision. They
are determined by astronomers TO be parts
Of our own solar system. which is at dis
lance almost infinite from Leo. The star
Regulus, in Leo, is one of the brightest in
the heavens, but no parallax has ever been
detected in it. 1t is therefore at a greater
distance from our system than is represent
ed by the smallest angle of the paralIax-
the unit which is the expression of a space
which it would take light more than three
years to pass over at the velocity of 1922
900 milesa second. Leo is therefore many
times further than this immense interval.
while meteors are demonstrated not 10 be
more than three to five thousand miles
from the earth.
This Is, however, distance sufficient 10
give the lines of fight appearance of
concentrating in curves to a common point.
This is an error Of conception, as they are
undoubtedly parallel to each other until
detected by coming within the atmos-
phere Of the earth.
Astronomers Of the greatest eminence
have, for term Of years been inyestiga-
ting the phenomenon TO discover It's causes;
and during several recent years, have had
the benefit Of observations made after yery
careful preparation in almost every quarter
OF the globe. LeVerrier and Adams, the
discoveries of Neptune, and the Herschels,
In Europe, and the American astronomers
at all the observatories, have arrived at
the general conclusion that these meteors
constitute an immense stream of meteoric
bodies revolving about the sun in direc.
ton opposite to that of the earth's motion,
IN very long ellipse, extending from the
earth's orbit at least as far as the orbit of
Uranus, and that the periodic time of the
meteors in their own orbit is thirty-three
years and quarter. The result of all these
observations makes the thickness of the
stream through which the earth passes in
two hours, thirty thousand miles; and
concludes that the most dense portion of
the group has not yet been reached by the
earth 10 its revolutions.
The common observer of the heavens has
no idea Of the vast number of meteors
which are always in motion. Prof New
ton, of New Haven, estimates from his
data that the entire number which traverse
the atmosphere daily cannot be less than
100000; and, applying The same proper
ton TO telescope meteors, gives daily az.
gregate Of 4OO,OOO,OOO
Some Of these have bulk and fall TO the
earth in meteOric showers. It's suggested,
and thought probable, that some of them
coming under certain conditions of force
within the attraction Of the earth, may con.
tinue to revolVe as permanent satellites.
A French astronomer announces his belief
that he has detected one Of thess bodies
revolving round our globe regularly, at a
distance Of FIVE thousand miles, in a period
Of hours 20 minutes.