The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-10-10
STARS N showers
VIII Fall on the Night of No
vember II, Next.
FRAGMENTS OF A COMET
Which Went All to Pieces No
body Can Tell When.

Chicago, Oct. s.-The Leonids are com
ing. On the night of the 18th of next
month there will pour from the heavens,
astronomers predice, the most remark
able and spectacular stream of shooting
stars seen since the centuary began. In
Washington the scientists of the United
States are making elaborate preparations
for observing the appearance Of the Leo
nids, while throughout the colleges, uni
versities. and astronomical observatories
of the United States and of the world,
thousands of men are waiting with eager
interest an opportunity to observe the
srandest of celestial phenomena
once every thirty-three years the spec
tacle Of millions of stars falling out ofthe
heavens is witnessed by the human race
a seemingly long time, but only a second
in the eternity Of the heavens. The asser
ton is safe that none who behold the cat
aclysm of living fire which will pour from
the sky when the orbit of the Leonids in
forever in mind the memory of the spec
tacle. Every year a few scattered frag-
ments Of the shattered heavenly body are
seen, but the appearance Of the main
groups is relatively rare
Questions naturally present themselves
as to what In reality are the Leonids.
where do they come from, and how is 1t
possible to predice the falling Of shoot
ing stars? These questions have been
answered In part by calculations and OBJ
servations, and in part by well-founded
theories of astronomers.
In the first place the single meteor or
meteorite which makes when It strikesthe
atmosphere Of the earth, the so-called
shooting star Is often a mere tramp of
the heavens-the detached fragment Of
some burst planet, too small for obser-
walton with the finest telescope, that WON
ders around in space until It comes with
in the circle of attraction of some larger
body, when gravity causes 1t to fall. Cen
orally in the course of its decnt through
the atmosphere of the larger body the
meteorite generates so much heat that 1t
is concumed, but if large enough a part
remains solid and strikes the earth. But
neither the single meteor nor meteorite
can be observed except in the brilliant
fashion of its death.
The comet, on the contrary, is a crea-
ture of the skies more to be reckoned with
Erratic as its wanderings may seem to
the unsophistocated, in reality it pur-
sues a most definite course among the
stars The length of the orbit which COM
cts travel vary from few hundred mil
lions of miles to thousands of billions
The time which different comets take in
completing their orbits varies from three
and half to a hundred thousand years.
The preciseness of astronomical knowI-
edge is such that the exact distance one
of these bodies moves in a second can be
determined. Hence the time at which it
will arrive at any given point in it's orbit
can be predicted to the second.
When the statement is made then, that
the Leonids are bnt the fragments Of a
former comet and that those fragments
are following the course pursued in by
gone ages by that comet, it will be seen
readily that there is nothing remarkable
tronomers can predict the time at which
the November meteorio showers will APP
pear. The swarm Of particles which
formed the once glorious ord known as
Temples comet now pursue in the outer
darkness of space the Identical path
which they followed when parts of a COM
posite whole.
hN- ha - E6a
the Leonids are but infants. According to
Professor Simon Newcomb, Temples COM
ct has been dead only $500 years. The
cause of explosion was probably the in
tense heat generated by the terrific rate
at which the comet revolved. But for the
fragments of the burning body there
could be no rest. The forces which COM
PEELED the larger body to follow through
countless ages certain path were at
work as well among the flying particles.
They fell into line, the larger fragments
taking the head Of the line and the small
Ter particles falling in behind for a mil
lion miles and more, and the amending
journey, interrupted for a while, was taken
up again along the old path.
The course of Temples comet and Of
its subsequent particles completely en-
circle the orbit of the earth, touching it
only at one point on its outer edge. Con-
tinuing it crosses the orbit Of Jupiter and
Saturn, and extends few million miles
beyond that of Uranus. Its orbit is clip
teal and twenty times as large as that Of
the earth.
One OF the most interesting questions
that will be brought up for determination
during the coming visit Of the November
meteors. is connected with their first pres
ence in the solar system" said Professor
William A Hardness, at the Naval OBJ
servatory recently. There is well
founded theory to the effect that Temples
comet was originally drawn into the solar
system by the planet Uranus, and this
year the exact date of its coming porb-
ably Will be proven by actual observation.
we are unablt TO predict the exact