Omaha daily bee., 1899-11-19

within a cycle OF thirty three and one-fourth
years He did not accordingly hesitate to
predict the brilliant showers OF November
| 1914. 1866. From these data II was now
found that this periodic return OF the show
| ers every thirty-three or thirty-four years
could be explained upon the supposition OF
FIVE widely different periods and therefore
five widely different orbits. Prof. Adams OF
Cambridge, England, by a series OF laborious
calculations found that OF these FIVE differ
ent orbits, the one with a period OF thirty
| three and one-fourth years perfectly har-
monized with astronomical data and the OBJ
served phenomena. The evidence afforded by
Adams conclusion established first the fact
that the "Leonids," so-called from their ra-
diation" from a point In the constellation
Leo, revolve around the sun in an enormous
ellipse bridging the vast gulf OF space lying
between the planet Uranus and the earth.
In the second place 1t fixed the period OF
these meteors around the sun at 1927 years,
which means that it takes 1927 years for
these meteoric showers to return to the same
spot from which they were last observed.
| Earlier and later observations, however,
have shown that comets and meteors, sew
! enty-six OF which are known and their or
bits calculated, have precisely the same or
! bits as these meteors. This identity nat
urally precipitated the question of the rela-
! tionship OF meteors and comets. Schiaparelli
in four letters in 1866 to Father Secchi
| showed, first, that meteors, like comets,
| have a velocity much greater than that OF
| the earth; secondly. that they travel into
our system from distances which, like thoee
of comets, is extra planetary and enormously
| far away from the sun; thirdly, that, like
the comets, they are drawn temporarily into
| the solar system and sometimes retained
within it by the retrograde pull OF some
neighboring planet; fourthly, that finally the
comet of 1862 moved In the same orbit as the
Perseids or August meteors. These conclu-
sions were confirmed by the labors Of other
astronomers. Leverrier of Paris published
the elements Of the orbits of the November
shooting stars-the "Leonids"--and these
were at once identified by Peters with OPP
polzer's elements of Temples comet Of 1866.
At the same time Weiss of Vienna called at
tention to the agreements between the or
bits of the April shooting stars, the "Ly-
rids," and the comet of 1861. These and
similar conclusions, together with the very
strong probability that the yearly Novem-
ber meteors are the dispersed atoms from
the tail of Biela's comet, have set astrono-
mers to formulate the only theory so far
successfully offered of the origin Of me-
teoric showers, that of Prof. Kirkwood
KirIswood's Theory.
Prof Kirkwood argued from the OBJ
served dsintegration of Biela and other
less noted but similar instances that the
sun exercises "divellent influence" upon the
nuclei of comets, which may be presumed
to continue it's action until their corporate
existence ends in complete pulverization.
May not then" he concludes, "our periodic
meteors be the debris of ancient but now
disntegrated comets whose matter has been
distributed around their orbits?"
II Kirkwood's is not the true theory Of
the meteors science has at least ascertained
that first, the tenuous matter Of comets is
ultimately dissipated and that it's subse-
quent wanderings through space have not
been tracked. Further, from the central
and probably solid parts Of comets orgi-
nate the minute grains by which, at periods
our skies are scored with brilliant and varie-
gated fires, for 1t is certain that loosely
aggomerated mass such as the comets are
must be separated in time under the un-
equal action of gravitation or the suns
tidal influence. The parts or fragments will
thereafter move in parallel orbits; at first
in swarms, and, with time and the full
effect Of gravitation on unequal masses, in
closed ring. The November meteors, or
the Leonids, move still in swarms; the
August stars, the Perseids, in closed
circle. For this reason" writes Clerke,
"Leverrier pronounced in 1867 the Perseds
to be of older formation than the Leonid
system. He even assigned date at which
the introduction of the last named bodies
into their present orbit was probably
effected through the influence Of Uranus.
In A.. d. 1875 close approach must have
taken place between this planet and the
parent comet of the November shooting
stars, after which it's regular returns to
perihelion and the consequent process Of it's
disintegration set in"
Dust of Decnyed Comets.
AS far, therefore, as science has estab-
lshed anything tangible as to their origin,
the shooting stars are the dust OF decayed
comets brought into our system by the at
traction of some planet and retained in 1t
under the influence OF the sun.
This theory appears further, to be cor
roborated by study of the nature of these
meteors in themselves. AS to the materials
OF which they are composed, 1t Is almost
hopeless to determine what they are. The
meteor moves with so great a velocity and
Is so completely burned up before II reaches
the earth-none of them ever approaching
closer than fifty miles-that all that We can
hope to secure OF it's material is the product
OF its combustion. This product, moreover,
has far yielded no or very meager re-
suits. Their mass, though difficult likewise
to get at has been very accurately estimated
II we consider the general conclusion
reached by astronomers. Each OF these
shooting stars, although an independent
planetoid flying with a hundred times the
speed of a rifle bullet on its separate pro-
jectory, reaching out as far as the orbit OF
Uranus, Is solid body of the size of a
cherry or even cherry stone. They prob
ably weigh on an average less than a grain;
the largest known has not reached 100 grains,
or a quarter OF an ounce. This weight is
ascertained by the light they give. We
know how much electric light is generated
by each horsepower of our engines. We
know the mechanical equivalent OF heat and
light. On the other hand these shooting |
stars move with an ascertained velocity OF |
twenty-six miles a second. The heat gene |
rated by friction with our air by a sta |
tionary meteor owing to the earths motion |
alone is at least 100000 degrees. Hence /
meteors by passing through our atmosphere |
are rendered white-hot and are completely |
vaporized. nothing at all OF the original |
condition reaching the ground. Their light |
however, has been measured. From these |
data we can, therefore. compute the mass |
or quantity OF matter whose arrested ve- |
locty furnishes this light. 1t is somewhat |
less than a grain.