Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-08-15
WHARF nfrteors Come r.on,

II, about two hundred years ago. g Wit
ness had stated that he bad seen q witch
at midnight riding through the air on r.
| bToomsuck, he would have been believed
! but II he had stated that he had heard q
| loud explosion, and found large hole in
the ground, and. upon thrusting his hand
IN, had found large stone which was
warm. his veracity would have been
doubted. Mcteors must have fallen in
olden times, but IS only in later days that
these cases have been reported. Until 1891
Il was the belief that meteor5 were vista
tons from God. A Danish astronomer vas
the first to write on the subject Pallas
found meteor. which he examined. and
recognized its true character, being 4 com
position OF metal and nickel. In 1883 a
large shower fell in Normandy, which was
OF meteoric origin. A Hindoo claimed
that & meteor followed him for two hours
before It fell to the earth. The mos, ceIe,
brated one fell in 1892 in Alsace, and it has
hung for three centuries IN 3 cathedral. 1t
weighed $50 pounds and fell with claU Of
thunder. 1t penetrated the earth six feet.
The best-known meteor is one of 1874
which fell IN WOlTcrhamuton. England
d farmer saw hole in the ground, and an
examination showed the ground 10 be
WARM, and meteor was finally uu-
earthed, which weighed about 700
pounds. Being polished, it resem-
bles sOlid iron, and is now
in the British Museum. In falling, mete-
ors start from above the atmosphere, where
there IS little resistance, and come down
with velocity twenty times greater than
that Of bullet. Coming in contact with
the atmosphere great heat is generated and
the meteor is broken in pieces The most
common meteOrs are stone, and cannot be
j. "a ~. eso,
carths surface. In Siberia and South
America the most are found. Where they
come from has caused much discussion.
one theory Is that meteOrs originally came
from the earth, and were due TO stupen-
doUs volcanic eruDtions of ages gone, when
the metsors were thrown beyond the attrac-
ton Of the earth and sent revolving around
the sun. Any stone thrown az the rate Of
six mics second would not return again
TO the earth, but you'd be thrown outside
Of the attractive power. Every one of these
must IN time enter the orbit Of the earth,
ana must OF course, return to it. The earth.
"a she swings her ponderous bulk in
her orbit, encounters, about No
vember 18th, the meteor zone This
gigantic hoop or eiipse co1sists Of q swarm,
Of particles following Temples com ct in its
orbit. The visitor from the star depths. on
arriving within the solar domain. vcntured
too near the planet Uranus The planet
captured the comet, and forced it hence
forth 10 revolve within the boundaries of
the solar system, the event probably oc-
CURING in the second century Of the Chris
tan era. The peTihelion Of the comets
orbit rests on the earth's orbit, where she
passes on November 18Th. and its apheGon
extends beyond the orbit OF Uranus. a
process Of disinregraton is going on, and
the debris OF the comet and the svvarn,e nf
lneteors are gradually scattering through
the whole zone, only one tenth OF which is
now filed densely with the meteor swarms.
The period Of revolution Is about thirty
three years, and q grand display occurs
only at these intervals, when the earth
crosses the densest portion of the zone.
The last memorable display was in 1868 81; ;
the next IS expected in 1S99.-IThe Irish
World.