New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-08-25
SOME7HING ABOUT METEORIC SHOWERS.
THE PLANET MARS NOT TO BLAME~MErEoHac
REGIONS THROUGH WHICH THE
EARTH PASSES.

REGIONS TEROU6H lh~
EARTH PASSES.
The display OF meteors this mon'h o"S no
appear to have been greater than usual ihc'o ~ns
indeed no special reason TO expect That II "ou'u
c.cept TINT popular fancy naturally connected uem
With the planet Mars with which, OF course tey nave
ro,h,nu IN do The August meteorc display winch
avavs takes place or or about August 10. appears
N nroce.d nom the constellation Perseus. which Is
therefore known automatically as 'he rau'"Ai''
and the mcteOrs OF this month are TOT '"s 'o"So"
called PeIseids. In the Middle Ages uey were MO"
as the "Tears OF st. Lawrence" Though the august
display 1, in.ercelng It IS not nearly So uuch SO
as the November display which occurs every Unity
three wears the metcors Of which are called Leohius
because they seem to proceed from the coheteia'o"
Leo display Of Lconids occurred on o'en I'm,
Der a. In 1s66-'7-'s, so that the next disP". m'i
not occur until 1890. The explanation VI 'i'.
perldic display is that there is ong thin stream OK
meteorodsp distributed through space each OF "iioh
I. rcvoyinr around the sun in comic secuoh' anu
having n period OF thrty-thee and quarter years
The length OF this stream IS so great mat 'ie mus ""
"a need members six eight years hheau vi '' az
the tail end They the earths orbit WIN 'e'ocs
y, about ty,niy six miles a second. and as the earth
meets them at an obqne angle, they nave 'eiooi'y
Of from forty TO fry miles second when the5 re"c"
m. upper atmosphee For reasons which II is not
necessary 20 enter into here, the DAY "heh inc
Leoptds are seen is moving along the caiehuar ~
the rate Of about month IN Thousand years -.
The yesr 002 A. D.. for instance. the display oeeur
On Octobsi 10. An interesting fact cohnec'eu WIN
the Leonds is that the comet known as 1865 moves
in almost the same orbit In fact this coho' Is gen
.rav ,erarded rs Itself meteorod, and that fact sus
rests that tho Leonds may be portions OF the come.
which have been expelled from II by some herhai
convu,s,on Indeed the larger deduction that all
neteoroids are simply bits OF dislntesrsted pahep
seems 10 be entirely In line with what VIC Ano" Vi
the piaietary system 4.
Another period when meteors may be expected Is
an n, ohout December T. Since these mcteofs proceed
from the Constellation Andromeda; they are known a.
Andromeds Al these facts prove that nt certain pc
RODS the earth plunges through what hh' DC o""'u
rivers of metcors whose position ana chafacer arr 81
well known that the dnte Of contact Win 'ne Gun %
occurntely foretod. Moreover, II b' pretty ceruih
that there are other streams OF mcteors re'oi'hs
through space whose "radiants" are not yet known.
hrt which NAV vet be discovered. Further than that IL
s ukelv that the whole OF our solar system contains
countless number Of meteorods varying IN size rom
mere particle 10 bodies Weighing se'erai hu
pounds nil Of which revolve around the sun vi 'hc
bodies those which fall the earth are caiied meteor
ties and large number Of them are to BE- fouhd III COZ
,ections In London Paris, Vienna, Berhh anu 'a''o'
cities In this country. They differ In some respects
49,. ,rr.e,ral matter They are generally covered
Nth a thin black crust, doubtless caused By the In
,.,ss heat 20 which they have been SUD
,.c,ed Their outside surface has evdcnuy been
melted but 81 rapidly not 70 ancct 'he 'n'iu'.
Sometimes one surface Is only Drowned indicsihe '
there was fracture after the body entered or a.
nospherc and sometimes there IS only CRACK liner"
mr.. oue-r cupiks cavities nearly all OF them the
cause OF which Il not known. Metallic iron ch"rs
largely into the composition of these metcortes ana
I. &c alxavs accompanied with nickel When the
reenritrs are broken they usually hive erayish III
tcrLnr and exhibit peculiar glooular structure w
oasonaly meteoric fragments have been plcHcu uP
several miles apart which Ct together perfectly sho"
Ing that they were originally onc piece "ch'raIy
the stones are too 10 be handled when they
,,u ,,mgb cases are on record IN which they were
very cold They nearly always penetrate the ground
the distance OF course. depending upon their momsn
iIn and the softnfss Of The earth where tncy sIn,
to,ns s,c.ptionaI Tho total weight Of stones found
after fall has seldom amounted to more ti'In io 49,
most common In the opinion Of astronomers. me
largest me'eoroids that entr our atmoPne,c ~
bodies are Almost Immediately broken up into smaller
bodies by the intense heat 10 which they ar sur
their generally friablc character II IS, 81 course,
natural 70 suppose that body whch siors sn'h
should be very nrge because We nstnctivcly compare
them with the planets but II IS e.umatcd ,h%t ,.e
grains Of sand and yet be large enough 10 furnish all
ne hight exhibited by them ,,n, :, tho mo,.or,,e.
fact which goes far TO indicate that n" Clnne,.
OF the solar system are all composed OF IN" same
elements The three most common elements In thcse
bodies iron. silicon and oxygen WHICH ar. t.e
three most common elements on the earth. ~ 10
the number OF metcOrs Daubree estimates that about
six or seven hundred stones fall on the EARN eVfy
yrhr The number OF small mcteors or shonuhg
stars Is inconceivably large, and most " not az OF
them are burned mp before they reach the earth NJ
oil. II Is estimated that at least twenty mi,ions W
day Thus In addition 10 the larger mcteorolds, "mch
are supposed to noa, through space about ten or
twelve miles apart, the whole SOAR system "pphD;.
10 be nllcd with small particles OF matter WHICH
have been most happily named " star dust. a.,
Few Intelligent people need " be told ulht tne
luminous appearance OF mei"ors ana snp,ung Su mr.
atmosphere When they first appear II Is estimated
that they about eighty miles flOn the earth ana
ny rrclv get nearer TO the earth than 'wen'N.hVe
miles This OF course. does not apply 10 the lrS'r
stone mot. ors whose weight causes them 10 falI on
the caI>h. That nll the mcteors which We see are
solid and not gaseous. Is pretty certain ,or a g,srCis
scatter and would become luminous. Ncvcrthc-
less, there have been few, II any. fatalities du" TO
the fall upon the earth II these bodies. The reason
IL that the number 81 stones which actually fa! on
the earth Is very small compared with the area ~ TIE
earth. As matter Of fact, we owe our safety from
these wandering bodies Of space 10 our Atmosphere;
and spend ihem-eves harmlcs>ly II usci 70 BE- n
theoH OF astronomers that .hc metcOrods arr con.
SANITY falling into the sun In large numbers. and
that they are in fact It's fuel but that Theory j. now
generally dlscpcded. since has been found that the
moteorOids have their orbit around The sun. lu-t
like the planets. Whether they originated from The
cvsm or whether they have always been thu hoaung
through space through the uncountcd Of eternity
or whether at some future point In time, they Will
be gathered together 10 form other words ar" qmcs
lions which Ill probably never be answered. The
one thing certain Is that study Of them Is one of
the most fascinating branches OF astronomy. for they
are n concrete connecting link between this earth and
the great and my sterous void Of the universe.