New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1898-11-09
METEORS.
Two Billion Miles of Fiery Meteors tt
Rush by the Earth for the Next
Three Years.

Three Years.
Two great meteoric shows in single
month, and only two weeks apart, con-
stitute rare event in astronomical an
nails. Such an event is due to occur in
November.
One of the expected showers will re.
suit from tho first onrush of the advanc-
ing columns of the great Leonid me-
teors which envelop the earth in fiery
spectacles once in every th1rty-three and
quarter years. The main mass of
these meteors is due in November, 1899,
but since their array extends over a
length of at least 2,000,000,OOO miles,
they require not less than three years to
pass the place where their orbit Inter-
sects that Of the earth.
Accordingly, astronomers are conf
dent that their leading files will be
streaming In hundreds of thousands
across the point of intersection when
our globe arrives there, about Nov. Is,
this year. The tocsln of science has
been sounded, star maps and directions
of observers have been scattered broad
cast, the latest improvements in photo
graphy have been enlisted in the service,
and the astronomical world is on the
qui vive for the expected encounter.
The other great shower occurs on the
night of Nov. 20, and will be caused by
the meeting of the earth with the me-
teors known as the Andromedes, OF BE
lids, which are closely related to the
famous missing comet of Biela, if they
are not, in fact, scattered debris of that
comet itself. These meteors were last
seen in great shower in 1885, when a
huge ball of blazing iron dropped out Of
the sky while it was filed with their
dazzling grains, and buried itself in the
earth near Mazapil, in Mexico. That
meteor, or piece Of smashed comet, is
now in neurological museum ia Eu
rope.
Only the transparent air protects u:
against death from meteors. A me
teor's velocity at the instant it strikes
the atmosphere is from 10000 to $50,
900 feet per second. Occasionally tn,
shield of the atmosphere proves INSULT
cient, and the earth's armour is pene
trated by meteor of more than ordi
nary size and density. This is VIVA
happened at Mazaph during the shove
of the Andromedes in 1885, and it ma,
happen again next month.
The Mazapil meteor, composed mostl
of iron, buried itself two or three feet il
the hard soil, and was dug out, ye
glowing with heat, by persons who ha
seen it fall. If similar meteor shoul
fall in New York city, notwithstapdin
tho loss OF, velocity it would suffer i
| passing through a hundred miles or $
of air, it would penetrate the stoutcs
: roof or wall, and if as large as som
others that have been known to reac
2 the earth, it would demolish twenty
i story building more effectively than
E whole broadside of 13-inch shells coul
5 do it.
!, The adventures of the two gres
i troops of meteors which are now rushin
: rapidly toward the earth have been va
? ried and startling, and the future ma
; have still more remarkable things i
, store for them and for US. The Leonid
thus called because they appear to "a
date from the constellation Leo) hole
like the Andre medes, close relations wit
!: q comet which is travelling in the sam
track. Every time they meet the cart