New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-11-07
TUE GREAT METEOR SHOWER
UNITS OF IT'S ADVENT NAY POSSIBLE ''''
AFFORDED THIS WEEK.
,,,, MAIN DISPLAY IS NOT DUE. HOWEVER. Fol

v,,r MAIN DISPLAY IS NOT DUE. HOWEVER, FUN
TWO YEARS YET-HOw TO HUNT FUN
,ron,Ds-ACs,IDENTAL PHOTOGRAPHS
!. scarcoIv n clear night when the
-, ,hserver ~ the heavens may not see
,,.,eor or two; but there are speclaI sea'o''
-, ,.,.r these wanderers from outer
.noce straw into the earth's atmosphere III ii'u."
oh,naance The most magnificent dis
,,,s -, this class now record were thoSe Va
>,o,,or 1899 and 1866. A recurrence Oh "o
.,o,oanon in It's fullest glory. Is not 'ooAeu
sa-r,, as,ronomers until 1883. But the advance
sS ,,os visible in 1891 and 1882, and again
an 1854 and 1860. There is reasoha"'e o""''No
.herefore that II the weather is me at JUS
the right time this year something OUT u '0
ordinary will be witnessed -,.ou
7, &c. now generally believed that me'eoii'e'
orc the wreckage Of comets Inc si'"
swarrns OF these bodies now known nave oee''
found TO move through vast eliptcai oroi's 'uei'
teal with those of comets that nave soiie
nieces The particular system mere coisiueieu'
Lnown as the LeOnids, require over 'iii inv
wears to make complete circuit aho eieio'0'
81 Is only at such intervals thal the iii'N
,,,,r,bar Of particles in the loose aggregation
reech that point in their journey WheIe 'hes
GROSS the earths path. But the procession Is oe-
-, oroduallv strung out somehow, so that
TOW NJ the tiny cold invisible bodles cohs''ut
,, eet TO the meeting place year
~ two ahead of time. Such as becorae seriously
.,,od in the earth's atmosphere never ge,
ont again: for by friction they are heatea 10
incandescence-they shine for a Few SECONDS
while being co lcumcd. and then leave only d
49, Of smoke and dust But so enormous is
the number composing the main system 'ia'
this robbery even to the extent OF niilionS'
Gems IN make no sensible reduction in the
quantity that is left
The schedule time for the earths arrlVal a'
,ba CROSS roads Is November 13 and 14-neXt
Saturday and Sunday. w F. Dennlne' one Vi
the great English authorities on meteor showers
saws that a watch should be malntalheo o"
the two following days also. The stream Is
wide as well as LONG. and. though the meteornes
are widely separated. there Is possibility Oh
seeing some of them for about four days. Inc
snot in the skies from which these meteors seem
o.. nrocoed is in the constellation Leo Every
or,o,aur star-gazer is familiar with the sickle
sbanad combination of stars in TINS group
What Is called the radiant point Is INSIDE 'he
hook of the sickle Leo does not rise untii ihlu-
night at this season. For this ana tor o'iiei
reasons the hours just before dawn are i''oa.
favorable 10 observation Of Leonlds- one siioN''
scan the northeastern heavens FOR this puiPoSo
In order to enable one to decide whether any
meteor which he sees belo lgs 10 the V''i
,hree-year system. or some other' II Is uo'"a
Tie 10 note from what region IN 'he Shiea ~
-. 90 start II has been suggested that
amateur observers will find 1t helpful to nave
= light straight wand within easy reach II not
actually in hand. At the instant meteor Is
seen this wand is held up against the. SKY 10
mark the path approximately, ana serves as
Guide TO the eve after tie luminous streak mas
disappeared The chances are that the visible
starting point will not be very close to the celes-
tjal sickle but If the line along when IL moves
being extended backward in imagination IN
tersects Leo. then the meteor may ne sately re-
rarded q true Leonid, no matter IN what dlfec-
t,or q travels-upward downward. sideways
or slantwise. Another test may he louhd IN 'he
oo,or ~ the shooting star. lleOnids are usually
blue or green though not invariably Announcer
set of meteOrs seen in July ana August anu
called Perseds. because they appear 10 come
from the constellation Perseus, are usually yei-
lowish In neither case. however Is the nue.
Uniform.
The first photographs OF meteors ever. oD-
tanned were taken when plates were exposed
Barnard nhen at the Lick Observatory was
making a picture Of Brooks's comet in 1888. and
found. upon developing the plate, that
straight narrow line was sharply defined there
on. This was produced by a brilliant meteor,
which crossed the field OF view during the eX-
posure Owing TO the faintness OF the comet,
the plate was exposed for something like three
hours But the comets motion through space
was very rapid and it not at the same
rate or in the same direction that of the
stars The camera was therefore slowly moved.
so as to keep the image Of the comet perfectly
stationary on the plate: and in consequence
the stars had enough apparent motion to make
short broad trails
Max Wolf Of Heidelberg. and ]. f. Lewis. Of
Ansonia Conn, also obtained photographs Of
meteors in the same accidental way. The first
man to get them Intentionally, 1t is probable
was DR. w l.. Elkin, Of Yale University. An
elaborate instrument has been devised by this
well-known astronomer for photographng
meteors He mounts from four to six cameras
on a single polar axis covering different sec
tons OF the sky. The apparatus is only used
at those special seasons when meteor showers
are to be expected. Mr.. Dcnning. the English
astronomer already referred to, has followed
Dr. Elkns example. Clockwor: Is not essen
tial TO this work, however. and any amateur
photographer with a lens Of not too wide an
LeOnids
ARCHEOLOGISTS HEAR REPORTS.