, 1879-08-09
Dragged into the Solar System by
tho Planet Uranus,
They Now Course Around the Sun
Three Times in a Century.
A Very Interesting Chapter In
Cosnlic History.

Through Tic HnOlc nIEHts IIc Hulh1EF VI
mctenrs TINT present themselves Is vcrf gteat.
In this way It has been aseertaincd that "pxartl
Of thirty on the average, which nro coasplcuous
enough to hs seen without Instruments. come
within the view of tho observers stationed ut
ono locality. Antltt Is computed that tcleseopic
motcors mLst bo about forty or fifty times rs
numerous rs those visible to tar nuketl ese.
: Thuec results may bu obtained from obseryn.
ttous tnnde ut one station; but when concerted
Beyornl o1cr facts nf Interest como Ia light.
1,y simultaneous observations at distant sta-
tions, ID Inns hcen discovered tint the hiEht
Of meteors aheve thc surface Of tho Garth us1'-
ul1y ranges from 1o0 down to twenty miles, lie
average hight bo!nE nbout sixty miles; that the
direction of their flight is tnwartl the carth,
eil1lcr In vertical or In B3oping direcsfnni anu
tint their speed III most cascs lies butween thlr-
" and fifty miles n second.
We thus arr1vn at the conclusion Tint tisi'e
MrtcuEs are phenomena Of ournwil atmosphere;
mil as The atmosphere reaches hight, At mast,
of leo miles, mud is, therefore. put tl'!n i1in,
over so vast globe as the earth. II Is obvious
that tIls Bcctators at any one pace can see unly
very s.na!l portion Of tho mctcurs ww1icl,
dart about through nil parts Of this envelope.
Alter uaSin. allowance. for thls ~ w IT, , nro
forced to conclude that nofewrr than 'ao0, W9,000
ri these bodtes pass daily Into tue cartl's at
mosphcrc, of which about 7.an, GEO arc tnrgc
enough to be saen With tho naked cygon clear
night, a,la Il, the nbacnce Of tho tnootl.
From the direction md BwsfttIcss ot the!F
flight, 1t Is manifest that
METgona AnE VISITORS FROM WITHOUT.
They plunge into our atmosphere, and the ra-
ssta,,ce to which they BECOME then suddenly
exposed must rnise them to temperature
Which exceeds Tint Of tho most intense furnace.
The hcat is enough first to melt 1t then to dis
sipatc n yapor the must refractory substances,
AM, It only now and then lappens that even a
part Of meteor escapes this fate al,1 reaches
the ground. They are for thc most part lust 1T
vapor cru they get within several miles of us.
TIC difficulty, Indeed. Ii nut to account for
their tncandoscence, but TO SEQ why they do not
emit n greater Aoo,l Of light where the hoat
must bo 81 Intense. And, III fact, they cannot
he other than very small bottles, or they would
he much brighter. Tie nvcrage wofght OF those
visible to the unasstBtol ere appears 10 be unAur
as-otlnce. u,d the tetescoplc oncst ot corsc1 1re
much lighter.
sieteora l.,ay be distributed into two vory
obvious clnsses.-casual netcora. which dart
irrcrnlarly through the slsy, and tnctcorlc
all0wcrs. which stream 'tnto our atmos.
pheso In one definite direction, and Mt
stated intervals Ut time. Wc arc concerned Ut
present with the rnetcoric showers. Mnny sch
nro known to exist, Of which the PRINCIPAL afe
Tho August shower. through which the carih
passes evory year upon the Nth, 1(th, and 1lth
pf August, and
THE GREAT NOVEMBER SHOWER,
which Is discharged upon tho earth tfrce times
In century. The November mutcoys are thosu
aInut which most IL known.
III the ynst cclestfnl spaceH tlere are no rails
0Yur li.n r1uEhaeascs OF which the train must
hr made td rattle, II It Ii to more at all; teso
whtr:s Il wind must DO psttluccd. " through
which nnIsu will he propnCnteh. The music Of
1lie spllrrvs Ia not at'llNd aullbls to the chr.
mud an itnped'n'ent to motion: u Is llarfnIesH
1t is n,togeIlcr good, It Is Tho pleasure Of tlM
human tnio' when It. understands the great
works Of MIXTURE. There is no Numbering
along throuEh the heavens. All is ST.
1grco all peace round tho Dlaneta as
t1.Ty hffiftIr itIjC1n. RH(4fUS Nhrki
IN this way without obstruction through the
tepths OF snacc arc ready to Yield ut once tho
due amount Of obadienra to tin. attraction OF
tile sun; Asgordias!s. each meteor which :tra'
vrrscs shr elliptic orbi. represented III lho dia-
gram menus itA Hue 80 Iupg NJ II Is gliding
along thAt half Of ITS courac III mhic,1 It is
Ing + forward as well IN sideways; alnl .llc for
ward attraction ssicsenses It's velocity, while the
~silcwaEl attraction bends ita path into s,n nval
form. Tue meteor tukcs Upward Of sixteen
tTers to traverse this part Of ftB Urbit. anA all
this titlo ita velocity Is on tile inerease II has
Attatncd its greatest Rperd w.,cu 1t reaches tile
point of ita orbit which Is caoscst 10 tts Bill,
mar to which IL the place where it crosscs 1hn
is twcnty-scy0n miles second. The earth
moves ut thc ratu Of nineteen miles second 1t,
very ,,eaFly tue opposite direction Al that II thu
meteor hapocn tn atrtko thu earth thu velocity
i! Is at this enormous snccd
TN! f,,n1 -, y rlnngc: into Our asn,o;snhcEe. ; r.
D'at u y tseape ttie corfu, nliu commune lla
course alpt lts ofplt II loscs epee4 lot tlc hhxt
alStech yGafa talt'i II mascs sl1e tafti,est part
ol 10 oEnis a. 1ta sowest 1,ace when n ABOUT
!lie nl',l l!l!sn per eccotil. III chcH Fe'o'hloh
!th seioe'ts oscis!htes between ,lleae extremes
ata nFoit u 50 vass t'tat It takes thsrty-tlroe
..years anu quarter 10 get Tound It.
saea Is u Enot' pictE10 "f tht course pursued
M hv eaeh thcs'lhcT u ttc great November swarm
liefe aro sutl''t'tss nyr'aus o 1ncteord ~ this
hHEhtY gloup, enetl ono moving independently
q I1c fGst, eaen ono iul1llllhh tts own destiny.
l'leY 1offn, together,
AN ESOtMots sTKrAM
of moscors, the dcnsu ,ur, Of wbItb onncars If
fr ab,,nt i0O 0M mfivs In With. mi NJ i'nm"ns,
iuurth, Iilc uct1ai trut, ia ~ ntnnSpI.Iy inm
tImt. oven ,nuyt,v u thu rntc Of twnnty. scye,
tnfirx n sucu,uI i took inward ~ w." v.nrs ~
nnse lhe M,nt wleru its n,th rrIss,,s ,tc rnrthi
1,rhit MIA ,mrt1I 1iassrs tis unInt IN ,l,r ,,nrn
In, nj thn 14th III Nnyrnbcr II, nvcry yrar' m,
1,"niI ri tbn tcnsn I,ust ri in, atrrnn s:t,n. ~ !,
7,uv~ raarhrtl tI,. ANN nntnt rsrv In In, ",.
1Sl i1Ir "arth wiz linn in II lit M. MT ~
~ "rhIt In, ~, liz. foiin,vt,,,r iii, ~ Nr'"
hsr ,rn s,,"n ,,n.l r. ,hn ,n1, wi,r,o I'M ,t.,
s.,c" ot .ustrars ,srs nnt1r" nrrnvs mr. mn ,ath
i,, "a-tn ~ ,'n ,..s."I tr+,,,,, III. swar, u "s
~, 49,, I.4lt iii t'"'sirn snarIF tn" anal ~ -" t.