The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1899-10-21

that Of Urnnnl IN gaape the orbit Of
iempei , comet q eiiiplirai, And ~
length 6 twenty times greater than
that Of the orbit Of the earth!
zone 1f the most Interesting qtes-
tons that viii be brought up for deter
minAtlon and settlement during the
coming visit Of the November meteoTs
IL connected with their firet presence ~
the solar system, said Prof. william
A. Hardness. who Is IN charge Of the
astronomical denartWent Of the United
States government naval observatory
to O Representatives. Of the Journal
'sThere IL d well founded theory that
Temples comet YVES originally drawn
into the solar system by the planet
Uranus. and this year the e1nct date OF
its coming VIII probably be aeduned
from actual observation.
I'VE are unable to predict the exact
hour at which the November meteorir
showers will begin. From the best
present estimates Il may be expected
that the showers WIN reach maximum
at / q. m. on the morning Of the 18th Of
November. They VIII probably begin
three or four honrB earlier than this to
fan Ia small bursts. They VIII continue
throughout the morning Of the 18th Of
November. and will be more or less OBJ
AGANMAlG uAAAAl tue ENAsAAAAAaAA AAAAA AAANAAN
ingB Of the 18th. 18th and 18th Of Mo-
vember although on each succeeding
day the number Of meteOrs Observable
viii diminish.
Although these meteors revolye
around the sun In q definite orbit, the
point Of their intersrcti-n with The or
BIT OF the earth moves Onward at tho
rate OF q degree and half per year.
thus throwing the advent Of the me-
teoTs a Few hours later at each sue
ceedlng fall. For example, the fall OF
1888 occurred on the night Of Novem-
Der and the morning OF the 18th. AS the
November neteoiF take some time In
passing through the orbit OF the earth
they are observable from almost any
point on the globe. The coming Show
able, be observable throughout the
whole OF the North American continent
aud In Europe and Asia. and In parts OF
the southern hemisphere as we'll
The November meteors receive the
name OF Leonfds from the fact that |
they appear to pour from that part Of
the heavens wherein Is located the con- |
stellatiOn OF Leo. This constellation at |
the present time Of the year appears |
when at It's zenith almost directly over
bend, TO an observer IN New York, |
Boston or Washington.
In weight these metcors and meteor |
ties vnry from few grains to many |
poun =. They strike the earth's OF !
mpsphere and begln to hurn at TUE |
height OF seventy-four miles. and ore /
generally entirely consumed at a height !
OF fifty miles. The terrible heat genera !
ted by the meteOEs when they strike thr !
upper regions OF the atmosphere can b.,
better realized when We remeTahe- that |
the earth travels nj a rate exceeding a |
thousand miles an hour, while the ME. !
teors are travelling at an even greater !
rate when they come IN contact with :
the ntmusph6fe.
THE phenomenon Of great meteor
tie shower is generally q perfectly i
nniseless one. When the streak IL first |
formed II Is narrow and perfectly |
straight. but II soon becomes serpen- |
tine and assumes an irregular figure. as |
It drifts along under the influence Of the
wind currents in the upper region Of the
atmosphere. These streaks or trails ure !
of various colOrs. owing partly to the |
composition Of their elementary sub /
stances and partly to their altitude. |
Some are OF delicate greenIsh hue, /
while others light UP the skies wlthsa |
rudy glow. Strealts OF orange. red |
and white. with blush white. commin- |
Gle TO form a most remarkable and |
beautiful spectacle. Occasionally an
orange cOlored meteor may be observed |
leaving in its wake n streak Of green
valuable results win be gained from
this years observations. For the first /
time since their history began the Leo
nlds will be the centre Of a syStematl>
observatlp; throughout the world. in !
addition 10 the many trained men OF |
science who will be on the lookout for
them, hundreds Of thousands, perhaps
millions. of Independent observers will |
be prepared to report any unusual phe-
nomeua which make their appearance
this year In connection with the regular
meteorle showers"