Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-11-04

United States on the morning OF November
II, 1888, and that which was witnessed in
Europe en- the morning Of Nnvs,nb,.r "a
1866
This prediction is based not merely on the
lact that from a record of these November
Ieteors' extending back over a thousand
SsdfS' perlodiCity of thirty-three years
mas been dcduced for their spurts of extra
ordinary activity. but also upon the kuoWl-
edSe which astronomers how have OF the
nature of meteors and the character nf il,ia
particular meteor system.
MeteorS are simply bits of solid matter
stone or metal which the earth encounters
IN her passage round the sun, and which.
uaShlhS INTO her atmosphere with terrific
speed, are quickly melted and ,iissipatai
INTO ASH and vapor by the heat engen,icrod
by The friction of the air. The streak Of
hSht which We See-the shooting STAR
announces this fatal catastrophe of the
meteor. In som, cases. if not IN all eases
these tiny celestial bodies are sssociat. A
INTO vast ShoalS. cr streams, which circle in
great eliptical orbits rCJnd the sun These
LeonldS so called because they all shoot
nom The direction Of a point in the con-
steNatlon Leo-constitutc such a system
lney circle round the sun in a long-draWn-
cut cluster. IN period of thirty-three years
anu traction. in an orbit which crosses
tiie earth at a point reached BY the Garth
annually about the middle Of November
oiulharly, The earth, in crossing their parb.
encounters only the Stragglcrs of the sy,.
TEN, individual mettOrS which. i'm The
course OF time, have become separated
n
STeater or less profusion around the whole
orbit. But thrice in a century she finds
directly across her path the main body of
the meteors, through which she plunccs
with the reckless sp ed of over eighteen
miles a second. a cannon ball might
plunge through a swarm of gnatS. and woe
to the meteors-the celestial gnats-which
stand IN her way. The whole heavens arc
aslow vi i the splendor of their destrl.c-
ton as They attempt to fly through the air
at the impossible rate of forty miles a sec
ono, FOR they, too, are moving rapidly in
their orbit and their encounter with the
earth is nearly END on"
Time of the Occurrence
Such an encounter will occur this month.
The precise time Of its occurrence cannot be
predicted; but most probably it will be on the
morning of the 18th. The shower will
last only about five hours, this being the
time required by the earth to pass through
the thick of the meteor stream. Only those
who happen during these five hours to be
on the advancing side Of the earth can wit
ness the grand spectacle. however We in
the United States may not be the favored
ones. but let us hope that we shall Ice
Unfortunately. a nearly full moon will in
terfere seriously with the spectacle but
since these meteors often SurpasS IN Iril-
hancy stars of the first magnitude and &C.
casionally the planet Venus the moon cam
not blot them out altogether.
The constellation Leo now rises at about
midnight, and few Deonids need be expected
to appear before that hour, Their ''rldi-
ant is very nearly at the center Of the
blade Of the Sickle. which forms the Lions
head and shoulders. For three or four
days both before and after the 18th stras-
CLING Leonids may be looked for. They
may be distinguished from other mereurs
by their shooting in tracks which pro-
longed backward lead to the radiant in the
Sickle.
Another shower Expected.
On ba Of
earth will pass through another interesting
meteor system, that Of the Andromeds. So
called because their radiant is in the con-
stellation Andromeda. not far from the star
Gamma These meteors are thought to be
the debris of the lost comet of Beta,
which was last seen in 1852. The orbit y
this comet passed very close to the earth's
and annually, when the earth crosses IL,
near the end of November, meteors are IN
cOuntered, which in those years when the
comet is due, according to calculation. are
remarkably numerous.
The last shower of the Andromeds oe-
CURED in 1892; the next is due this year.
On the 18th Andromeda viii be nearly
overhead at about I'm. Meteors belong
ing to this system, seen at about that
hour, will appear to drop from a point near
the zenith.
The Planets.
The planets this month do not offer
much of interest except the fact that omit
ting Neptune, they are punched near the
sun-are all on the eastern side II the sun
within a space Of thirty degrees. All, there
fore including Neptune. in the consJella-
ton Taurus, are now evening stars
Mercury viii be at its greatest elonsa-
ton east of the sum degrees IL minutes
on the 10th, and in "A clear air should be
visible low in the southwest, a half hour
after sunset, about that date.
Venus also viii soon make her appear
ance in the evening twilight low in the
southwest.