The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1894-08-22
A Memorable Night.

It was d memorable night that sue
ceeded the day of November 13, 1893:
It is consequently a little over sixty
years ago that the night came with
falling stars, and while the phenome-
non had no connection whatever with
the orbs of stellar space, it was still
an unrivalled celestial exhibition:
Back in the centuries are records OF
similar scenes on the sky, but events
that come with intervening generations
most always appear to the new obser-
vers.
Sixty years ago astronomy was still
vague In the general mind; there were
no great observatorics as at the pres
ent time, and such as there we're had
very inferior telescope equipment.
The great mctecric night came unan-
nounced. It was not anticipated by
astronomers, and even if it had been,
there was no such way of disseminat-
ing intelligence as now to reach the
masses. The press itself was not yet
a power and the fulcrum Of general
education, on which it exerts it's lever
age. People and print had not yet
come into conjunction. The day pre-
ceding was just moderately cool,
somewhat cloudy, with occasional sun
shine. With the approach Of evening
the sky cleared, and breeze that had
prevailed during the day subsidized.
The lunar orb showed q slender silver
sickle in the earlier evening, but the
crescent retired before 8 o clock.
Before this, while the dim light still
remained, there were noticed peculiar
and phosphorcscent-like trailing lines
in the heavens, as if great matches had
been struck, leaving for while slow
vanishing pathway. This grew in fire.
ouency and intensity as the twilight
deepened, when the new moon sank
below the horizon. Night had now
fully set in, and the stellar concave
was scene Of meteoric splendor such
as all the historic ages haye not excell-
ed. The sky was literally bespangled
as if with starry paths, hundreds
crowding other hundreds in view all
the time, most extensive assortment
of sizes, in blue, green, red and vel
low, all these colors in many shades
and the heavens perfect mass OF ir-
descent light.
Some of these metcors were unusu-
ally large, and had nuclei of such in
candescent brightness as to cast shad-
ows. and the effect of these flying
torches in the varied colors was to cast
a weirdly singular glow over the land
scnpe. The display lasted from 8
o'clock to 2 clock, with the maximum
intensity shortly before midnight, and
as the observer in these six hours
would be carried along the earth's or
bit 408, 900 miles, some conception
may be formed of the immensity OF this
meteoric field.
Whether the orbital path Of the
earth crosses the path Of the meteors,
crossroads fashion; whether the two
paths intersect obliquely and the earth
and the meteors for while in man
ner travel together, until at length the
denser earth at length speeds away
from them, or whether there is still
some other explanation, are matters
full of interest, but cannot now receive
notice.
But what are these meteors? Nu-
merous hypothesis are advanced to ex,
plain this and other questions that
arise pertaining to these luminous
bodies. They are probably gaseous
substance too tenuous to readily yield
to attraction, and thus hoatin some
what erratic orbit around the sun, and
presumably their orbit is intersected
by that of the earth. The chance OF
meeting at this intersection, in the
night, when there is no moon and the
sky clear, must be indeed a remote
one, but, nevertheless, sometimes oc-
ours. The earth's path around the
sun is $50, 100000 of miles, and the
meteoric path is also immense, and 1T
will at once be seen that a crossroads
meeting must hinge on some OF the
conditions mentioned. Long may be
the time and unborn generations may
come and go before another such event
takes place on 50 grand a scale. No
one sees them if they cover the polar
regions. Of course the ignition takes
place when the matter strikes into the
earth atmosphere, the residuum be-
ing a thin and almost imperceptiblc
yapor.-Piusburg Dispatch.