The Portland daily press., 1899-10-21

snow or was disclosed. All the tracks OF
the metsors raniats1 from Loo. o ,ca-
sicnally luminous trains would iinger on
for many minutes after the meteor had
flashed across, but the great majority Of
the trains In this shower wers evan as
cent. 1t would be Impossible to say how
\ many thousands OF metecrs we're seen,
each one Of which was bright enougbstU
have ELECTED u note Of admiration on any
ordinary night"
This shower was best seen In Europe 10
1854 hut in 1881 1t was repeated and the
observers In the United States were
/ treated TO 4 magnificent spectacle. The
researches Of Prof. Newton Of New
Haven and Of Prof. Adams Of Cam
bridge, Eng, and others, have demon
started that there Is moving ABBOTT the
sun, az centre OF attraction, a great
bunch Of mateors. Thls group takes
/ thirty-three and one-quarter years to
make complete Gir5uit. lite orbit plane
is inclined to the earth's orbit and so re-
lated to IL that the meteor group crosses
the earth's orbit at that places where
the earth comes about Nov. 1915. The
enormous 1T ream has a small bresdta in
comparison with its length. DIR. Storey
has calculated that, II we represent the
orbit of the metsors by an eclipse whose
length Ia seven feet, then tue meteor
stream Will be represented by thread Of
the finest sewing silk, about foot and
. half or two feet long, creeping along
the orbit.
| In the heavens this eclipse has an
axis over 1870 millions of miles in
length. At apheIion the meteor group
goes out beyond the orbit of the planet
Uranus. The real breadth OF the stream
cannot be less than 100000 miles. aud Is
probably 100000 miles. In 1856 the
earth took five hours to go through It
moving at the rate OF about eighteen
miles second. In 1867, when the earth
returned to the GROSS roads, the msteor
stream was still going by, and America,
especially, had a splendid view. Even
In 1868 the stream had not gone by com.
pletely. There are meteors scattered all
along the orbit path OF the group, but
there appears TO be only ons group or
bunch. We therefore see metscrs every
year about Nov. 1915, but the granu
shower comes only when we strike into
the stream.
The calculations of the French astrono-
| mer lie Nerrier APPEAR to indicate that
In 1876 A. ID. the Lsonids Gas ths swarm
Is called because the metsors seem TO ra-
date from Leo) were moving in an or
DERBY manner aronud great orbit which
would take them past the earth's orbit
out almost to Jupiter, in their nearest
| approach to the sun, and thsn they would
| reuedo, never to be seen again in this s1lar
system. But In that year l2S A. ID the
planet Uranus was near the swarm as
II buby pneh1u ulH OTDLtt duN Ut W tub DoW~
| er Of his perturhing attraction pulled
them back and caused them to pursue a
/ smsller orbit. the present path. Uranus
1 captured for the SOLAR system this inter
esting group of meteors. The group is
subject now, in its motion around the
sun, TO disturbing effects of pulls from
| the otte. planets, Jupiter, Saturn and
the earth. These pulls make the acour-
ate calculations difficult, and produce q
little uncertainty as to the times OF the
| showtrs. A few weeks after the 1866
shower of Leonids the astronomer
| Schiaparelli Of Milan published a paper
| ON the August meteors Tor Pe.seids, be-
cause their rsdient spot is In Psrscus. }
be showed the wonderful fact that q
brigh comet was moving in the same
path as the August meteors. A little
later Pref. Oppolzat of Germany pub
lished his orbit of Temples comet Of 1855.
| Then IL was seon that remarkable CO.
Incidence ez listed between the orbits of
the November meteors and Temples 1856
! tho orbits were practically identical.
Several years later the metseric shower
| radiating from Andromeda was shown to
pa following In the path of Biela's com
et. Later yet the April meteors we're
| found to re associated with comet
-Four such remarkable eases seem to prove
a physical connection between comets
and metsors. Many astronomers hold
that These meteor swarms are simply the
result OF comets going to pieces under
the action OF the sun, during th3tr sue
oessivs returns to perihelion. The earth 8
atmosphere, Hall remarks. acts, in burn
| ing up the rometary pieces, like screen
| In protecting US from tombardment. IL
| the air were less dense and thinner many
| more ineteors might get through to the
earth. No metaorites have come to US
| from any OF the great showers.
Preparations are beiug made in many
of the observatories Of the world to OBJ
| serve tie expected grand display. Some
astronomers will try 10 Photograph the
group before we reach the crossroads. The
sunlight striking the group may illumi-
mats thu bunch sufficiently TO be sem by
| the Photographic eye before the esrth S
atmosphere converts the group into myri-
ads OF yeritabls sky rockets.
Observers Will watch the heavens and
Will trace. in prepared maps of the stars,
| the track of any well-obseryed meteor.
Many OF these tracks being obtained the
! radiant point can be determined. This is
essential for calculation of the orbit,
DIR. Elkins Of Yale University has,
| with the financial aid of the National
Academy Of Sciences. placed several
cameras on an axis parallel to the earth's
axis. He will aim ths various camsrAs at
different points of the sky near the con-
stellation of Leo, on the night the
shower is expected, and by the aid of
clock work the cameras will be kept
pointed t, the same places. When the
| shower begins, exposures viii be made
giving, 1t Is hoped, developed plates
which win show numerous stars eros sed
by meteor trails A second Observing
| station several miles away win also take
photographs. Ii is expected that both
| Ohssrvatories will get pictures OF the
same meteor trail. The measurements of
| the plates. referring tbs trails TO the
Enown stars on the plates. will determine
| tho elevations Of the meteors as seen from
two places a known distance apart.
This win provide the data for calculating
the height In miles. Measurements OF
| the plat IS will also furnish the most ac-
| ourate determination of this radiant
point.
| All who wish to see wonderful sight
should be on the watch. 1t might be
well for those desiring to see the display
to arrange with the telegraph or rsle-
phone companies, or with night watch
man, to wakeD them in case ths shower
| appears.
As has been indicated, there are several
elements Of uncertainty about thu time
of the coming OF the shower. It may
come little earlier or later than Novem-
ter lis, and some unknown effect of the
| Ill ~