The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1871-11-14
November MeteOrs.

The annual fall of November meteors |!
TO be looked for about this time, between
the tenth and fourteenth Of the present
month. There Is no reason TO anticipate
any special display, but II the clear atmos
phere which has made the skies beautiful
TO behold for q few nights past, continues
to give US equally favorable conditions
we shall probably see a goodlY show Of
these shining visitants from another
sphere. Perhaps no subject Of astronomi
cal research is Invested with greater inter.
est at the present time than that which
relates to comets and mGteOrs. gr .s.
A few facts seem TO be clearly estab.
lished in the history of tho November
meteOr. They have o period of thirty
three years, revolving in an exceedingly
eccentric orbit, coming, when nearest the
sun, within that Of the earth, and extend
ing far out In space beyond the planet
Uranus, when at the greatest distance
from the sun. This great hoop, or zone,
is filled with tho tiny bodies called me-
teOrs; 1t varies in depth and compactness
In It's course, the stream sometimes meas.
uring u depth indicated by hundreds Of
thousands OF miles, and At Others dwlndl.
ing to dimensions indicated by tens of
thousands. The earth crosses this stream
IN November OF each year, and we havea
display OF shooting stars depending upon
its extent and compactness Once in
thirty.threo years the earth passes through
the richest portion Of the stream, and we
have a grand show. The last period oc.
cured In 1866; the next will occur in 1900.
: Astronomers have recently discovered
that teloscopiC comet Is associated with
tho meteors, moving In the same orbit, and
corresponding In every particular with the
ascertained facts In their history. This
comet was introduced into the neighbor.
hood Of the sun more than q thousand
years ago by the attraction Of the planet
Uranus; ever since meteors and comets
have continued TO reVolve In their new
orbit, and will continue TO revolve till
some more powerful attraction bends their
course In new direction. The velocity
with which these meteOrs move has been
computed, and 1t Is found that they pene.
trate the upper regions of the atmosphere
with the inCOnCelvable speed OF forty
miles a second. The depth of the steam
can also be measured at any part the earth
may cross. In 1867 1t was 10000 miles;
In 1868 1t was not less than 900, 900 miles
The meteors appear, as we look at them,
TO radiate from point In the Constella.
ton Leo, which is therefore called the
"radiant point" and the mGteors are
named for this reason Leonides.
Thus far we arc dealing with facts in
the history of meteors, but for the more
recent theory Of their identity with com.
cts, shining by conclusion, and reflected
by sunshine, we must wait for more light
before we look upon tho subject as any.
thing but an ingenious hypothesis.
II will b0 remembered that there was
an unusual exhibition Of August meteors
Not many were observed on American
soil, but French observation, which was
systematic and thorough, gave the re.
corded paths Of hundreds and thousands
seen at different stations, and an iaggre>
gate often thousand.
The best time for observation Is about
8 O'Clock In the morning, for the constel-
lation Leo Is then in the east In q good
position for sightseeing. We looked
carefully for the tiny vlSitants on the
morning Of the ninth, fbut not a solitary
descending star rewarded our watch,
though tho atmosphere was jsuperbly
clear, and the waning moon did not give
sufficient light to obscure tho faintest
straggler of the shining brotherhood
Pr0U. Journal.