The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1899-12-01
WHERE LIE sTARs EEL.
BIeteorIc Display Was Disappointing Both
In Europe and the United statss-

BIets0FIc Display Was Disappointing Both
in Europe and the United States
scientific American, November 81
The meteOric display Of November
Il, ID, and Is was disappointing. IN
favorable conditions hampered the
astronomers at the Naval observatory
at Washington on the IA; clouds pre-
vented observations until o'clock a.
m, and it was only partially clear at
any time. Paths Of ten LeOnid mete-
ors were plotted on the star chart.
One Of these was as bright as a star Of
the second magnitude, but the others
were fainter.
The conditions at the Harvard OBJ
servatOry we're very unfavOrable to the
observation Of the meteoric display.
The efforts Of the observers met with
some success, however. On November
I6, % meteors wers seen about 3 O'Clock
q. m, at Chicago; the student watchers
had an opportunity which was denied
TO the astronomers Of the Yerkes ob-
servatory. At the Flower observatory
Of the University of Pennsylvania, at
Philadelphia, the watchers recorded
1O2 meteOrs, 90 Of which we're LeOnids.
Nearly all the meteOrs observed
were faint, only a few Of them being Of
the second magnitude. Most of the
non-Leonids were scarcely discernable.
In no instance did a meteor leave a
trail visible for more than a few sec
Onds. The Harvard observatory count
ed g, but the display hardly came up
to the expectations Of the astronomers.
Professor Howe, of the University of
Denver, reported that he counted Is
LeOnids besides a large number Of
meteOrs in other portions of the sky.
On November Il many students Of
Princeton stayed out long after mid
night to observe them, and in order
that all might have an opportunity to
observe them, the bells in the town
rang to awaken the students at 1 o.
clock. No photographs were taken of
the few stray meteOrs that were seen
At Gill university, photographs Of 156
meteOrs we're obtained
At Lima, Peru, at half past u o'clock
November 10, there was a strong earth
quake shock, but no celestial PhenOm-
ena were observed. By the falling Of
an aeTOlite seven miles south Of Cres-
cent City, Ill, a residence was partly
wrecked, tearing away a portion of the
upper story. The aerOlite buried it
self in the ground about three feet
from the foundation of the house.
In England a balloon made an ascen-
sion for the purpose of observing the
LeOnid shower. The observers saw
only five meteOrs, and they we're obIig-
ed to make a sudden descent as the
balloon was drifting toward the sea.
As a result two of the three occupants
of the balloon were injured. Generally
speaking, the European observations
proved a failure, except in the Austrian
Alps where, on November 10, no less
than 800 LeOnids were seen and photo
graphed. One hundred were seen at
Paris, and a fair display at Brussels.
The most interesting report received
from the observations in the United
States on November ID is a dispatch,
unsubtantiated as yet by astronomical
authorities, to the effect that a large
meteOrite fell in the woods just east of
Webster City, Ia. The dispatch said
that the falling body came down with
a terrific roar and all seething and
blowing out a hole in the
ground so feet square. If the report is
verified, the find viii be more than
usually interesting, because, while
meteOrites at times fall to the earth, it
is not known that any of the Leonids
have hitherto penetrated through the
earth's dense atmosphere without being
entirely consumed.