The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-11-07
THE NOVEMBER METEoRs.
Astronomers All over the World
Looking Out for Them

ASTRONOMERS All over the World
Looking Out for Them.
The advance guard of the great November
meteor swarm is due this month, and on
the nights Of the 18th, 18th and 18th sstron-
omers in all parts Of the earth will be awake
and on the lookout. They will be both sur
prised and disappointed II meteoric spec
tacle, which may be a brilliant one Is not
beheld by some of the watchers The main
swarm Of meteors is not due until November.
1893, but their advancing columns, broken
into parallels and separated by considerable
gaps, occupy so much space on the celestial
highways they traverse that millions of the
mysterious little bodies must already have
reached the neighborhood of the earth's orbit
and 1t can hardly happen that many of these
will not become entangled by the terrestrial
attraction, and dart their fiery spears through
the upper air.
The reader may like to be reminded that
this, the greatest known meteor shower"
has period of thirty-three and one-quar.er
years; that the history of these meteors has
been traced back to the year A. D. 126, when
the planet Uranus Is believed to have cap
tured the wanderers and turned them into
a permanent orbit around the sun; that a
comet (Tempel's) is known to be travelling
in the same orbit with them, and that the
world was astonished at the magnifcence
of the displays which they made in 1888 and
in 1866. At their return in 1866 changes
had taken place in the array of the meteors,
indicating considerable scattering, and in
November, 1867, enormous bodies of them
were still rushing across the earth's orbit,
and another splendid display occurred
The point in the heavens from which the
meteors appear to radiate is situated within
the curved blade Of the imaginary ''sickle"
which marks the constellation Leo. This is
not well risen until midnight, but late in
the evening meteors radiating from it may
be seen shooting upward from the north
eastern horizon. Observers are advised to
begin watching for them about II D. m. on
Nov. II, keeping up the watch for FIVE nights
altogether and continuing 1t until the MORN
ing twilight begins Fortunately there will
be trouble from the moon, which Is new
on the 18th.
The November meteors are very swift in
movement, since the earth meets them head
on and they frequently exhibit bright col
ors and leave brilliant trains. The Harvard
college observatory offers to send maps and
forms of record to all who will take part in
systematic observation of the meteors If
the expected display on the 18th or 18th does
not equal expectation, another chance will
be presented the night OF the 9th when
the celebrated Andromeda meteors are due
These are believed to be part Of the debris
of the vanished comet of Bela, and they fur
nished dazzling spectacles in 1872 and 1885.
Their period Is thirteen years. During the
shower Of 1885 an iron meteor, supposed to
belong to the Andromeda swarm and subse-
quently famous under the name Of "a piece
of Biela's comet" fell at Mazapil in North
ern Mexico. Unlike the Nov. Ii meteors,
which are known the Leonids, the An
dromeda meteors are slow, because they
overtake instead of meeting the earth. Their
color Is frequently reddish. The full Moon
will interfere with the observation OF these
meteors. whose radiant point is overhead be-
tween and 10 O'Clock in the evening-Gar-
rett P. Serviss IN the Scientific American
O04