Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1875-08-27

moment 1 heard the same voice still be-
seeching me TO rise, and saying: % my
God, the world Is on fire. then opened
the door, and IL Is difficult to say which
excited me mosts-the awfulness of the
scene or the distressed cries of the
negroes; upward of 100 lay PROSTATE on
the ground, some speechless, and some
with the bitterest cries, but most with
their hands raised, imploring God to save
the world and them. The scene was truly
awful, for never did the rain fall much
thicker than the meteOrs fell toward the
earth" M
The theory is now generally accepted by
astronomers that shooting-stars are frag-
mentary masses, revolving, like planets,
around the sun as a center, which, in their
course, approach the earth and, drawn by
its attraction into our atmosphere, are ig-
nited by the heat generated through the
resistance offered by the compressed air.
These bodies have been found to move in
long, elliptical paths, similar to those of
the comets, instead of round ones, like
those of the planets; and it is also known
that some Of them are grouped in long,
thin streams, many hundreds of millions
of miles long, and that meteoric showers
are produced by our earth passing through
them at various times. About the 10th of
year the earth plunges into mete-
oric stream and causes the showers
of shooting-stars which have al
ready been alluded to. The August
meteors appear to radiate from
the constellation Persaus, and those of the
November group have their radiant point
in the constellation Leo. This is owing
to the fact that our earth, at these times in
the year, is moving exactly toward the
regions of the sky from which the shoot
ing-stars seem to dart in every conceiva-
direction. A shooting-staT coming to-
ward the observer appears only as bright,
stationary point in the sky. This point
is called the radiant, and is q marked one
in every star-shower. Other meteors to
the right and left of this one are also NOV
ing parallel in the same direction, but
they appear to shoot away from that part
of the sky where the radiant is seen. In
other words, the tracks of these bodies,
produced backward, will all meet in one
point of the heavens. 1T will in general
rise in the east and set in the west like
the sun or star, keeping always its 1Xed
place among the stars"
Probably the most startling and i'm
portant discovery respecting shooting
stars is their association with those won
derful objects of space known as comets,
though this fact was not dreamed of until
within the past few years. There is now
| conclusive evidence that meteors are in
some manner associated with comets, al
though their connection is not yet fully
understood. 1t has been ascertained that
all the principal meteor systems follow in
the train of some known comet. For eX-
ample, the August stream of mcteors has
been found to be intimately connected
with the third comet of 1862, as their ele-
ments are nearly identical, acircumstance
that could not have resulted from mere
accidental association. This remarkable
comet, discovered by Prof. Tuttle at the
Cambridge Observatory in July, 1862, is
in all probability the origin of those fiery
meteors which have been seen in the heav-
ems for ages on or about the festival of
st. Lawrence. 1t circles around the sun
in period OF 100 years, and its vast orbit
is strewn throughout with little cometarY
fragments which at certain umes enter
our atmosphere and become shooting
otor VTi.;i- le.slirses with tire wonderful
phenomena of meteors and shooting-stars
we are naturally led to inquire: "Do
these bodies subserve any useful purpose
in the economy of our solar system, and
for what object could they have been
created?" These are surely important
luGSllOuS W dSh, Dul III luC DlCSCut SItlC vi
astronomical science they cannot be
definitely answered Some may think
the meteors fly athwart the starry concave
as sort of diversion to us poor mOrtals,
driven forth into the open air these hot,
sultry evenings, while others penetrate
deeper into the mystery for reasons" !"
There is no body in the universe, however
small it may be, that was made by the
Creator in vain; and these little shooting
stars, although apparently so very insig-
nihcant, were surely intended 10 exercise
some valuable influence in space, and
particularly in our solar system, to which
they themselves belong.
| All are but parts Of one stupendous whole,
| Whose bo1y Nature is, and God the soul.
1t is now generally believed by astrono-
mcrs that in the immediate vicinity of the
sun there exists myriads of these bodies,
which, by their constant downfall upon
his surface, maintain the solar light and
heat. If such is the case, shooting stars
are of immense utility to us terrestrial
dwellers, who depend upon the "great ort
of day. for all the comforts which we en-
joy. But very little is known concerning
the purposes which these objects were in
tended to subserve, and all our knowledge
rests upon theory alone. Astronomy in
Its onward march will evidently develop
many new ideas respecting them before
the close of the present century.-A. X.
Bartlett, IN Detroit Free Press.