The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-07-27
Ii SHOOTING A
pIain Explanation ~ = sight That -
sOsnstimss PussItng.

04 8a
Plain Explanation u = sight Thst -
sosnstimss Pushing.
The shooting stars are small bodies,
vsiahing Al most 4 few pounds. and con-
listing mainly Of iron and carbon. writes
camille Examination In the Dsutsohs
revue. They traverse space In swAsms
nd also revolvs around tho sun In long.
lliptioal courses like the comets. When
hess little bodies enter ths sarth's orbit
hey arc detected toward tho earth.
! sinsls niaht. Their brlehtnsss 4
iue TO the heat sngendsEed BY the energy
q Their motion: Ins.s spc:a n e .ts1a n
sscond, while the speed Of the earth on ~
orbit 10 only twenty-five ktlometsrs
! second forward. Consequently when
/ shower OF them approaches the EARN
IA this direction opposite TO its course the
initial speed i ssventy.two kilometsrs :
sscond. When they follow on 10 course
shey gain 1871 kilomstsrs . second on y.
their mean rate of approach being thirty 10
forty ktlometsts a second. Ihe friction on
gendcrs a TEN peraturo o. S.OOv degrees
Celsius. subject 70 which ensy Dars. anso
stance ID not vaporized they pass through
md beyond the upper strata Of our atmos-
bphsre and pursue their proper course
bNfound the sun; but, - = rule, they are va
porizsd. in which case the vapor minglss
teoric dust. IL this manner We oome in
contact annually With lag milliards Of
shooting stars, which add considerably to
thu earth's substance.
Every year shooting stars present tho
most interesting spectacle on the night q
August 10, and frequently also on the two
following nights. II this night IL clear and
tho observation Is not disturbed BY the
moonlight, one may count hundreds and
even thousands Of falling stars during these
three nights, all coming apparently from
the same Quarter q tho ne heavens: the oo e.
earth takes three days to rass through the
shower Of shooting stars affords a measure
Of the enormous space they occupy the
more 30 that they cross our orbit at right
angles to the earth's course: Their orbit !.
along one, and corresponds with that Of
the great comet Of 1862, which reaches Z
distance Of Z, l04, 600, 900 kilometers from
the sun, approaching il At intervals Of 12l
years. This immense orbit APPEARS to be
full Of shooting stars. Another date equally
interesting for the observation OF shooting
stars 10 Nov. IA. On this date they ars
syen more numerous than on Aug. 10. At
intervals OF thirty-three Yeas they fall ON
this date az thick as snowflakes. Two hun
dted and forty thousand are estimated to
have fallen on Nov. "A, 1888; the phenom
enon repeated itself in 1856. and We look
forward to its recurrence in 1883. Ths
November shooting stars appear to come
out of the constellation Leo. The course
of this group corresponds to that of the
comet Of 1866. near the orbit of Uranus at
assistance of 2,84O kilometres from the sun,
which il approaches every thirtJ-thrse
years. In the year 126 A. D. this comet.
under the influence OF the attraction Of
Uranus, waa detected from its original
course and made q member of the solar
system.
however, the only ones on which shooting
stars In considerable numbers may be OBJ
served. Among others November q may be
mentioned, for on this day in 1872 and again
in 1856 at least 1907 600 shooting stars were
observed. In Rome, where I was or the lat.
ter date, the phenomenon excited great in
terest, and even the pope was evidently not
wholly unmoved, for SOM days later. when
holiness. his first words were: Ibid you sec
the golden shower of Danae2" The shower
Of fixed stars of 1872 was entirely mex
pected by the Astronomers. They had beer
much disturbed at the loss of Bsla's comet
which after its discovery steadily mad
it's appearance at intervals Of 81,
and a half years until 1876, in &C
cordance with it's computed course. On thii
occasion while pursuing its course on the
night of Jan. ID. it split into two pieces
0lV6I2lup from oHCu OtnoC ~ buoy puESueu
their several courses. Both comets were
visible on their return in 1852, but they
were pale and faded and more than 2, 900, 0N
kllometers apart. 1t was the last sight
from that date the Bella comet has neve
been seen again. It is vanished, annihi'
lated, burst up into shooting stars. Wer'
this not 80 it must have biseoted thu
earth's orbit on Nov. q, 1872, and actually
have come into contact with it. In it,
stead there appeared unexpectedly tn
aforementioned shower of stars, and thu
conclusion was that these small bodies wer'
the remains Of the Bella comet, Z oonclu-
sion unquestionably confirmed by the OBJ
sefvations of Nov. q. 1886.
This, then, is one of the latest coaclu
sions of soience: Shooting stars are tn
fragments of sbivered comets. Comets, II
fact. are comparatively short lived bodies
few of them persisting beyond Q few thou
sand years, and the smaller ones for a muo|
less period only, while che duration Of
planet like our ca tn extends to millions o
years. The great comets which frightened
our ancestors would doubtless be found t
have lost much of their b%rillianoy it "
could see and identify them; for durinI
their course around the sun they contin
ually throw of vapor and fragments, an
are mus constantly subject to diminution