The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1878-06-07
SHOOTING STARS.
What They Are and How Their
HriIliancy iS Caused.

From the recent work on Popular
Astronomy" hy Prof. Simon Newcomb.
Of the Naval Observatory At Washington.
we take the following explanation of
the phenomena OF shooting stars ID often
observed IN the heavens:
1T l. now universally conceded that
the celestial spaces are crowded with H.
minute bodies moving around
Iilsr sun ia every possible Kind OF orbit.
Orfhe.naturc
81 the minuter bodies Of tliS class nolh-
ling Is certainly known. nuf whatever
they may be. the earth Is constantly en-
lcountering them in its motion around. ~
sun They are burned hy passing
Through the upper regions of our atsno~-
lpherc, and the shooting star il simply
lile light Of that burning
The question which may be asked at
this stage i, Why are these bodies
burned! Especially how can they burn
$50 suddenly and with 80 intense light
|as 10 be visible hundreds OF miles away
These questions were the STUN Oing block
lof Investigators until they were answer
led, clearly and concuSiveIy, by the dis
lcovery OF the mechanical theory OF heat
liz is now established that heat i only !.
certain form Of motion: that hot air slli-
Ilcrs from cold air only in more ripid
Vibration Of its molecules, and THAI II
communicates it, heat 10 other bodies
lsimply w striking them with Us mole
lcnles.,and thus setting ihcir molecules
lin vibration. Consequently, il a body
moves rapidly through the air. the inn
pact ofthe air upon il ought 20 heat n.
just asa warm air would, even though the
mir itself were cold. The result OF this
theory has been experimcntally proved
by sir William Thompson. who found
that thermomctcs placed in mont al u
rapidly moving body rose one degree
when the body moved through The airnt
tile rate Of l25 feci per second. With
higher vel0ctics. the increase of tenn
pcrature was proporiioncd 10 the square
uf ahc velocity
This result j. in exact accordance with
the mechanical theory of heat. 10 ind
the effective temperature fo which Il
|mctcoroia il exposed ia moving through
our atmos rhcrc. we divide Ill velocity
|ln feet per second ~ l25: The square NJ
lthe quoticnt will give the tcmncrafuic
In degrees, Let us apply tile principle
10 the case oi the meteurOid- The earth
moves in its orbit NJ the rate of 81 .UrJ
feet per second, and. III IL met ncie-
Ioroid az rest our atmosphere would
strike II " 18th this velocity. By the rule
we have given FOR The rise Of tcmprra.
ltnre. the mctcOroid would practically
encounter temperature III nearly
100000 degrees This il many times
any temperature ever produced by ari-
|ncial means. III. as will be commonly
the case. the mctecrOid IL MOVING NJ
meet the earth, the velocity. and IA, re-
fore, the potential temperature will ~
higher. We know that he mctcoroit~
which produce the November showers
move IN direction nearly opposite that
LOT the earth, with velocity cf twenty
six miles per second BY The rule ~
have given, this velocity corresponds 10
Ia temperature between 3UC0.uO0 ana
4,0000OO degrees. We do no; mean
that the mctcoroids arc generally heated
|up 10 this temperature, but that lie air
acts upon them as II il were heated up
TO the point mentioned that u. II burn.
Tor voatilizcs them III less Than second,
with an enormous evolution OF light and
Ihcat, just as 4 furnace would II heated
TO temperature Of = 100000 dporces.
Ili II not III all necessary that ihe body
should be combuslible: the light and
heat Of ordinary Burning are nothing 10
|all comps arcd with the deflagration whica
Isnch atenpcaturc wouldrausc by acting
ion the hardest known body
And, as ihc whole operation il over IA a
second, we may imagine how intense
The light must be-"