Daily Los Angeles herald., 1879-09-05

ecllpses and comets as well, O
their terrors.
All know what a shooting sta
looks like, but no living man cal
tell us what it really is, for nont
has ever been known to reach tn,
earth. Those heavy, stony ant
still more weighty metallic masses
meteorltes, meteoric stones, etc.
which occasionally fall to the eartt
from the celestial regions, of which
the one that recently fell in lows
was a remarkable example, belong
to another class of objects entirely
Of the origin of which man know!
nothing.
A shooting star is only visible
while undergoing the process O
combustion, which lasts from one
to three seconds, seldom longer
Previous to this they exist in Q
dark, probably solid condition, not
much, if any, larger than peas; toe
small to be seen by daylight, and
in the night, being in the EARTH.
shadow, are eciipsed, and conse
vutntly invisible. Only while be
Ing burned are they visible to ua,
as then they shine by their own
light.
Each meteorOid moves in an
orbit, revolving around the sun
with as much regularity as the
larger planets. In fact, each is in
every sense of the word planet,
obeying strictly the laws of gray
itatiou and planetary motion. All
space is filled with them, they are
AS numerous as the sand. The
earth and they in their journey
round the sun encounter each other;
the earth by its superior attraction
draws them toward it, but to reach
it they must pass through the at
mosphere, which not one is able to
do. Only meteoric stones are able
to reach the earth, and they have
their surfaces blackenei and con-
verted to scoria by the terrible heat
engineered by the friction with the
atmosphere and by arrested motion.
Shooting stars move in all direc-
tons, and at velocities probably
equal to the earth's nearly nine.
teen miles second. One moving
retrograde, therefore (from east to
wesD, would plunge into the at
NJ osphere at relative velocity of
some thirty.eieht miles second,
and, if allowance be made for ac-
celefated motion caused by the
eaith's attraction, probably double
chat, or srvenl y-iive miles second.
The encounter is fearful, and but
for the atmosphere which acts as
cushion, the effect would be dis
astrous, for not less than 100000 600
would rain upon the earth every
day.
The source from whence these
meteoroids come is comets, es-
peciaily from their tails. The tail
of the arpa, comet of 1911 was $780,
000,000 miles IN length and 15,000,-
600 miles in diameter. 1t is iEl-
probahl. in tie Highest degree that
the cvm~i couid ~uther is toll to
itself again. 1t il loft behind,
forming par; Of - ring, VIII, II in
time may bctujsle continuous Alt
Other comet CO - aiai ii does tile
same, and during the ases which
are past this process has been GO
ing OIL Till the interplanetafy
spaces are filled not only with
meteoroiGs, but something still
more marvellous.
la about three thousand years
that great comet will return aid
repeat the process, forming part of
another ring or adding to the first,
depending on circumstances which
need not be considered here. When
ever the earth, in its annual jour
ney, passes through any ring made
by some comet, no man knows
when, we get a star shower. The
four most notable ones in our times
take place at the following dates,
namely, on the mornings of Aug
ust IL and November IA, and the
evenings of November "a and 81.
The last two are caused by the
earth passing through the track of
meteoroids left behind by the frag-
ments of Bida's comet, which di.
vided into two parts la 1856. In
this way meitroric rings are
formed, of which the solar system
is filled, but none are visable to us,
excepJ tlOse tIe ealth pdSSeS
through. BY some such process
was the August ring formed, which
the earth passed diagonally
through on the evening Of the 10th
and morning of the 1lth of the
present month.
The first August shower men
toned in history occurred OH July
25th, A. ID. 811, and has appeared
with uufail NJ regularity down TO
our time, except break of eigty-
three years between S4l aud 924,
and another and much longer one
of 80 years, between the years of
932-l243, owing, probably. to breaks
in the ring, or, which is more | ike.
ly, to failure to record them. The
period of the above comet is about
1913 years, and it will therefore
make its next appearance about
the year 1885.
The eccentricity Of the August
ring is very great, its perihelion
distance being equal to that of the
earth, and its aphelion distance faI
beyond the orbit of Neptune, max
ing the circumference of the ring
mere than 1000, 100000 miles, and
as the earth is ten days in passing
through it, its thickness must be al