Lamoille newsdealer. [volume] (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1860-1877, 1874-07-22


in the west, like the sun or star, keep.
ing always its fixed place among the stars
Need | tell you how much VIC would
like to have some of these bits from the
meteoroid streams to handle, to try with
the blowpipe and under the microscope,
perhaps thus to learn something like this
AT times large meteor masses come crash
irg into the air. They burn with light
bright enough to be seen over severalStates
Coming down usually little lower than
the shooting stars, most frequently to a
height Of 20 or 30 miles, they break up
with noise like the firing of heavy ar
tillery, to be heard over several counties.
Fragments scattered in every direction
fall to the ground often over region ten
and twenty miles in extent. l can show
you several such fragments. There are
over hundred of them 10 our College
cabinet, one OF which weighs nearly ton.
Between these stone-producing mcteors
and the faintest shooting star | cannot
find any clear division We have metc-
q ors that break with loud dctona,ion, bat
no fragments are seen to fall. One such
was seen in 1860 from Pittsburgh to New
Orleas, and from Charleston to st. Louis.
1t exploded over the boundary line of
Tennessee and Kentucky. We have
others which are only seen to break into
pieces, no noise being heard. Then we
have those which quietly burn out. Like
the larger ones, these may leave smoky
trains that last for minutes. One such |
have seen for 45 minutes as it slowly
Aoated away in the the currents Of the
upper air.
Thus through the whole range, from the
meteors that gives us these stones and
irons for our museums down to the taintest
shooting star hardly seen by person
watching for it, we pass by the smallest
differences. They differ in size, in color
of fame, in direction, in train, in velocity
But in astronomical character all seem to
be alike. They move in long orbits like
comets and like comets at all angles tt
the earth's orbit. In fact metcorold i.
small comet, not haying, however, the
comets tail.
Let me tara from this long disgressior
again to the story Of BleIa and tell vor
what we saw Of it in November, 1872
We of course looked for few fragment.
from the comet the last week in Novem
Der, but not quite as early as the Oath
But on that evening they came in small
numbers, it is true. Before midnight We
saw in New Haven about $50 shooting
stars, three -fourths of them from Biela
Very few of them were to be seen The
next morning and evening. Then for .
day or two it was cloudy. But in the
early part of the evening of the 9th they
came upon us in crowds. Over 1,00C
were counted In an hour. BY 8 O'Clock
the display was over. But we saw only
the last few drops Of a heavy shower
| Before the sun had set with us, the shoot
ing stars were seen throughout all Europe
coming too fast to be counted. At least
$4,000, perhaps 100000, could have
been seen then by single party Of OBJ.
servers. faa s1a H0
The meteors came from the northern
sky. A German astronomer, Prof. Kiln.
kerfues, at once thought that if this was
the main body of the comet 1t ought to be
visible as it went off from us. To do this,
however, we must sec the southern sky
He telegraphed to Mr. Pogson at Madras
10 India !: "Biela touched earth Nov. 27.
Search near Theta Centauri.n Mr.. Pogan
looked for the comet aud found IT. On
two mornings he saw round comet with
decided nucleus, and on the second morn.
ing tail eight miles long. But clouds
and rain returned the next day, This is
the last that has been seen of Bielas comet
Was this Pogson comet or the two
parts Of Biela seen in lS45 and 1852 !!
This is yet an open question among as
tronomers. 1t may have been, but |
think it was NOT. The Biea comets should
have been nearly 200,0o0,000 miles
away. Their orbits had been computed
with care. The comets. as single or
double, had been observed for so years,
that is II revolutions, and we know we'll
their orbits. All known disturbing forces
had been allowed for. 1t could hardly be
that they should have gone SO large dis
tancc out of the way. 1t is much more
probable that this was third large frag-
mept, thrown off centuries ago. The two
observations made by Mr.. Pogscn were
not enough to complete an orbit form, but
they do show that his cemnt was very
near us, and wero such as one travelling in
the Biela stream might give. But they
also show that tho earth did not pass
through the Pogson comet centrally.