The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-12-17

the heat is such tnab bue Aquio may De
boiled off into vapor, 80 enao @l.nih
precipitated itself into the atmosphere it's
dissolution is complete. 1t has persisted
as an Individual object and its remains
lie strewn in impalpable dust along a
track perhaps ton, twenty or fifty 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 humiliation is 10
progress. Before thai time we could not
see it, for it was too small and too far
away and moving too rapidly. After
that time it could hardly be known to
US, for how could we gather up the dust
into which it had been converted along
its track. But during the supreme
moment of it's dissolution it develops a
streak of light SO bright as to be apt to
Greats an impression altogether out OF
proportion to the minuteness Of the
object to which the light owes it's origin.
1t must not be thought that because
single observer under ordinary ciroum-
stances sees only few shooting stars on
any particular night that therefore the
number of these objects appropriated ny
the earth every twenty-four hours are
not very numerous. 1t has been estimat-
ed that the number of shooting stars
which daily plunge into our atmosphere
is to be reckoned by millions, II not, in
deed, by scores of millions. Indeed, con-
sidering that this addition Of external
matter to our globe has been in progress
for illimitable ages, it seems quite POSI-
BILE that considerable part of our earth
may actually have been derived from the
nj fr,in nf
tial wanderers upon its surface.
1t is fortunate for US jewellers on the
earth we are screened by our atmosphere
from these bullets of the sky. For even
though these objects be mo larger than
the pebbles on a gravel walk, yet, con-
sidering that they are animated WIFI
velooities one hundred times as great as
that OF rife bullet it is obvious that
they would render a residence on the
earth highly dangerous. On the moon,
for instance where there is no protecting
atmosphere to reduce the missiles to
streaks of harmless vapor, and thus serve
as screen, the blows must be terrific
SHOWERS OF METEORS.
1t had long been noticed that there
were certain nights in the year in which
meteor displays were specially manifest
cd. The most notable dntes in this COLI
nection are the 10th of August and the
18th of November. On either of these
nights In almost every year the diligent
watchers Of the skies will 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 striking to excite
universal astonfshment. 1t does, how
ever, sometimes happen that the Novem-
Der showers become spectacle which
can only be described as sublime. Many
of your readers will doubtlesssTeoollect the
superb display of shooting stars which
took place on the 18th of November,
1866.
| shall always treasure the recollection
of that phenomenon AS perhaps the most
have ever witnessed. ! was at that time
astronomer to the late Earl of Rose at
Parsonstown in the center of Ireland.
It was then my duty to observe nebulae
with tha famous rejecting telescope of
six feet aperture. ] was engaged on the
night in question in conjunction with
the present Earl of Rose, in examining
a nebula when the exclamation of an at
tendant by my side made me look up in
time to see splendid shooting star
Which, Flike a great rocket. streamed
across the sky.
Presently similar COLLECTS appeared in
scores and hundreds, and for ssome hours
We witnessed one of the most glorious
celestial spectacies that the eye Of man
could ever behold. 1t was Ito be noticed
that the shooting stars rrdid not appear
promisouously from various. parts Of the
sky. The directions in which they
moved seemed to radiate from point in
the constellation Of Leo. This appearance
of divergence 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 to the lire from the eye to the
center of the sickle-shaped part of Leo.
Those particular meteoTs which hap
pened to be directedsstraigbt toward the
observer seemed so much fore-sbortened
that they merely looked like stars which
suddenly burst into brightness and as
suddenly disappeared, with but little or
no change in the apparent position which
they occupied. Some three or four par
ticularly bright meteors left long tracks
behind them, which lasted for many
minutes before Ethey finally sank into
invisibility.
SIR ROBERT BALL.