The morning times., 1896-11-13
SKIES WILL SHOWER FIRE
Beautiful Meteoric Display
Scheduled for Tonight.
COMES ONCE IN SO YEARS
It Is Different from the August
Showers of Stars-DiscOvered by
Humboldt-It Is Caused by the
Earth's Passage Through q
Stream of MeteOric Dust.

If the skies be clear tonight and the
prediction of the French astronomer, Flam
marion. be verified, there will be fireworks
in the air which will startle those who
have forgotten about the shower of shoot
ing stars which are due this evening To
be exact, the celestial display will occur
between midnight and morning
The meteoric shower is not an accident
1t has been on the bills from time i'm
memorial. but it was rot until 1893 that
the scientific people began to fix its cir:
cult There was a brilliant display in that
year. Humboldt and Bonpland were mt
that time in South America. at Cumanu.
when, on the night OF the 1lth to the morn
ing OF the 18th OF November, the air was
full of fire from the skies.
1t frightened all the Inhabitants of South
America, but after the scare they RI mem-
bered that the same thing occurred in 1866,
and this was enough of a cue for Humboldt
Investigations showed that this display had
occurred in 1893. 1766. 1888 and back
ward through the centuries.
ONCE IN THIRTY-THREE YEARS.
This showed thai the star shower was to
be expected every thirty three years, and
as matter of fact the shower of 1893,
thirty-three years after HumboIdt's IN
vestigation, was particularly brilliant In
the United States. 1t was not only beauti-
ful but sublime and awful. Itstruck terror
into the superstititious and there are still
traditions OF the terrible effect IT had on
the supe erstitious slaves of the South They
regarded IL as the beginning OF the Judg-
ment Day and betook themselves to pra yer
and hymn singing Just as happened during
ri hstI lt..a
ago.
Prof. Olmstead, of this country, was pre-
pared for the shower and made some very
Interesting observations. His estimate was
that there were about half as many IN the
air at one time as of snow drops IN an
ordinary snow storm. Looking in pne di-
rection only, he counted $50 in fifteen
minutes, which was nearly 3ne every
second.
On this basis there fell in the neighbor-
hood OF 250,O00 of these meteors.
In Paris In the next thirty-three year
| period, 1866, there was another brilliant
| display the number approximating two per
| second.
| WHY THEY OCCUR THIS YEAR.
The next period will occur in November
| 1899. Dut showers are expected this year
| 'S1, 'Ss and also in '9S for this reason
Ithas been discovered that the showers are
caused Oy The earth passing through a stream
| of meteorc dust which reyolvrs around tn,
| su min thirty-three years and quarter. This
| stream intersects or Genes very near tn,
| orbit of the earth in its progress around
| the sun and the point of intersection is made
| in November. The stream and the earth
| meet each other, the earth moving at tn.
| rate OF about nineteen miles per second
| and the stream at ahout twent " eli ght mile,
| Itr second. SO that they meet AT the rate ni
forty seven miles per second.
| The stream is composed of minute par
ticles of matter. which. when projected
into the atmosphere of the earth at this
| Tremendous speed are instantly fired BY
the friction and cauS. the trains or light
| some of which are as bright as the biz
met eors occasionally seen, and others
| are only little threads of light as long as
! the duration Of the process OF burning
| up in the air
COME FROM ONE DIRECTION.
As the earth plunges into ,he stream
| head on, 1T explains the fact that the
| Ineteors appear to emanate from the same
point, which is generally about the con-
| stellation Leo 1t has been also noted that
| 1t takes the stream about three years 10
pass given point in it's orbit, and there
fore three years To pass the point of IN.
tersection of its orbit with that uf the
earth in November.
So, the adgance guard will be hit by
the earth tonight, next year the stream VIII
be passing and the earth Will go deeper
| into the mass, and SO on until 500 when
the great display Will occur.
The stream must have had an origin.
This origin was discovered by the French