Evening star., 1896-12-12

very striking result We can show that
when a meteor dashes into our atmosphere
tne heat generated as IL pierces Its way
through by friction win be sufficient not
alone to warm the object. but to make NJ
red not, and even white heat. Nay fur
ther. the heat that can be produced by the
friction of a cold body striking into our
cold atmosphere may become higher than
that which Is eenerated in a blast furnace
II may be higher than the temperature in
the flame of an oxyhydrogen blow pipe.
The effect upon the meteor is of a most
astonishing description. Be the materials
OF this body what they may: whether they
are such will yield easily 20 fre or
whether they are the most intractable bodies
which ca1 be found. they will be unable TO
withstand the intensity of the fervor pro-
duced by this atmospheric friction. The
little object not only grows red and white
hot, but IL Is fused into liquid. Nay, fur
ther, the abundance of the heat ts such
that the liquid may be boiled of into vapor
sc that within very few seconds after
the meteor has precipitated Itself into The
atmosphere its dissolution is complete. Ii
has persisted as an individual object and
its remains lie strewn in impalpable dust
along track perhaps ten, twenty or nifty
miles In length.
Before the Dust Period.
Our only knowledge Of the existence OF
the meteor is acquired during the very
brief space while It's annihilation is in
progress. Before that time We could not
see it, for IL was toe small and too far
away and moving too rapidly. After that
time Ii could hardly be known to US. for
now could We gather up the dust into which
IL had been ccnverted along its track. But
during the supreme moment of its dissolu-
uon 1t develops a streak of light so bright
as 10 be apt TO create an impression alto
gether o ut OF proportion to the minuteness
OF the object to which the light owes its
origin.
Ii must not be thought that because a
single observer under ordinary circum-
stances sees only few shooting stars
any particular night that therefore the
number of these objects appropriated by
the earth every twenty-four hours are not
very numerous. 1t has been estimated that
the number of shooting stars which daily
plunge INTO our atmosphere is to be reckon
ed by millions. IL not. indeed, by scores of
millions. Indeed considering that this ad-
dition OF external matter to our globe has
been IN progress for illimitable ages IL
seems quite possible that a considerable
part OF our earth may actually have been
derived from the daily raining down of
these little celestial wanderers upon its
surface.
1t is fortunate for us dweliers on the
earth that We are screened by our atmos-
pnere from these bullets of the sky For
even though these objects he no larger than
the pebbles on gravel walk, yet, consid-
erinS that they are animated with yeloci;ics
one hundred times as great as that of a
rifle bullet, II is obvious that they would
ftSiustlct on The edrth highly dan
gerous. On the moon. for instance, where
there is no protecting atmosphere to re-
duce the missiles TO streaks of harmless
Eapor, ana thus serve as a screen, the
blows must be terrific.
showers of Mcteors
1t had long been noticed that there were
certain nights in the year in which meteor
displays were specially manifested. The
most notable dates in this connection are
the 10th of August and the 18th of No.
Vember. On either Of these night in al
most every year the diligent watchers Of
the skies win be rewarded with the sight of
an unusual number of these fiery darts
Even on those days, however, the display
Is not, generally speaking, sufficiently strik-
ing to excite universal astonishment. II
does, however. sometimes happen that the
November shower becomes a specta cle
which can only be described as sublime
Many of our readers will doubtless recol-
lect the superb Display of shooting stars
which took place on the 18th of November,
1865
/ shall always treasure the recollection of
that phenomenon as perhaps the most in
teresting astronomical sight that / have
ever witnessed L was at that time as
tronomer to the late Earl of Rosse at Par
sonstown in the center of Ireland. 1t was
then my duty to observe nebulae with the
famous rejecting telescope of six feet
aperture. i was engaged on the night in
question in conjunction with the present
Earl OF Rosse. in examining nehula when
the exclamation of an attendant by my
side madN me look UP in time to see a
splendid shooting star which, like a great
rocket streamed across the sky.
Presently similar objects appeared in
scores and hundreds, and for some nours
We witnessed one of the most glorious
lestial spectacles that the eye of man
could ever behold. 1t was to be noticed
that the shooting stars did not appear
promiscuously from various parts of the
sky. The directions in which they moved
seemed to radiate from a point in the con-
stellation of Leo. This appearance of di-
vergence from point is easily shown to
be an effect of perspective: the meteOrs are
in fact all darting toward the earth from
one direction, namely, parallel 20 the lire
from the eye to the center of the sickle
shaped part of Leo.
These particular meteors which happened
to be directed straight toward the observer
seemed SO much fore-shorteHed that thsy
merely locked Ike stars which suddenly
burst into brightness and as suddenly
disappeared. with but little or no change
in the apparent position which they occu-
pied. Some three or four particularly
bright meteors left long tracks behind them,
which lasted for many minutes before they
finally sank into invisibi!ity.
SIR ROBERT BALL.
Victim of New Fad.
From the New York Herald.