The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-11-07
NOVEMBER METEORS.

Almost any clear night, especially in Mo-
vember. seeming stars shoot across the sky
with startling velocity. often with vivid
brightness. leaving transient ares of light
along their course. Occasionally one of
flaming brilliancy will illuminate the whole
heavens. On the evening of Dec. q 1876, a
shooting star of unusual size swept over
Indiana, passing eastward increasing in
splendor and bursting into several balls OF
fire as it passed out of view. Violent eX-
plosions, like thunder were heard several
minutes after its passage. These detona-
tions We're noticed as far as Bloomington.
Ind, $50 miles south of the meteor's course.
What are these shooting stars? From
whence do they come? The answer is, they
are neither stars nor parts of stars, but
fragments of comets. About the middle Of
November the earth, in its course around
the sun, crosses the orbit of a vast stream
of cometary fragments that also move
around the sun, forming an enormous ring
of very uneven thickness. 1t requires thir-
ty-three and a third years for a complete
revolution of these particles. Three times
in century the earth plunges into the
thickest portion of this stream of meteoroids
producing the wonderful phenomenon called
a meteoric shower. The next great periodic
display will occur in November, 1S99 but it
has been observed that beautiful meteoric
showers have appeared two years in adj
vance Of the maximum downfall: therefore,
we may look for the occurrence of the phe-
nomenon in a few days. The earth will be
central in the meteorc swarm just before
daybreak, Sunday morning, Nov IA. Unfor-
tupately the moon will be only five days
past the full. which will greatly interfere
with the briIIiancy of natures fireworks.
h. ,I@av~ II~l ]
because they radiate from a point in the
constellation Leo, just south of the bright
star Regulus Meteoroids are black, cold
and invisible until they enter our atmos-
phere, when they become visible and are
then called meteors. The friction due in
passing through the air at the incredible
velocity of about forty-four miles per sec
ond fuses the meteor to white heat, caus-
ing it to glow with a brilliancy of the cleo
trio arc.
Humboldt, writing from South America
thus describes the great meteoric shower Of
1893: I'VE witnessed a most extraordinary
scene of shooting meteors. Thousands Of
bolides and falling stars succeeded each
other during four hours From the begin
ming of the phenomenon there was not a
space in the armament equal in extent to
three diameters of the moon which was not
filed every instant with bolides or falling
stars
1t is estimated that about five hundred
meteoric stones annually strike the earths
surface. Most of these are small, weighing
not more than pound or two; some weigh
hundreds of pounds. The largest meteorite
in the world was last month landed at the
dock of the Brooklyn navy yard, from
whence it will soon be transported to the
Smithsonian Museum at Washington. This
huge fragment of a comet was brought
from the shore of Melville bay, on the west
coast of Greenland, by Lieutenant Peary,
u. S. N. 1t weighs ninety tons, and is
composed of 80 per cent. iron and per cent.
nickel The only pure iron found on the
earths surface is of meteoric origin. It is
not strictly true that the meteorites are in
visible until they enter our atmosphere.
Under certain conditions the meteoric riv-
ers flowing around the sun are visible TO
the naked eye A few minutes after sunset,
especially in the spring, afterglow of
white light, resembling the Milky Way,
may be seen extending from the western
horizon along the zodiac towards the zenith
1t is conical in shape with the center OF
its base where the SIN sets. 1t is called the
zodiacal light and has been observed for
ages. 1t is also visible in the early morn
ing. In the Orient, where there are religious
ceremonies attending the break OF day, II
is called the false dawn or fox's tail
This light is supposed 10 be reflected from
myriads of meteoroids revolving around the
sum- extending their course far beyond the
our system. JOHN &. DEAN.
Indianapolis, Nov. 6.