The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1899-11-09
The Peoples Journal:
PJCkENS 8. Q.
A GREAT SHOWER OF STARS,
THE EXPECTED METEORIC DIS
PLAY.

FILA
Tho Heavens Will be AGIow With
Thousands of Meteors-The Frag-
ments OF Great Comet.
On the night OF November IA one Of
the grandest spectacles ever offered
bv the heavens will be witnessed here
in the form Of gre at fall Of Mete0-
rites. They are known as Leonids and
their dazzling performance, which oc.
ours only once in every thirty-three
years, will be plainly visible in South
Carolina.
In this wonderful display the meteo
rites will touch the atmosphere Of the
earth and become ignited by the
rapidity Of their flight. Millions of
them will fall and they will appear as
dazzling globes OF multi.colored flame.
The fact that they ignite and dissolve
on contact with the atmosphere is
all that saves the earth from destruc.
tion.
Scientists all over the world are
making elaborate preparations for OBJ.
serving the appearance OF the Leonids.
This century has been the first that
astronomers have discovered the cause
OF the great November meteoric
shower. 1t WAS Tempel who found
that tho Leonids are fragments OF a
. former comet.
Reckoncd by the figures OF the heav-
ems the LeOnids arc but infants. Ac-
cording to Prof. Simon Newc0mb, TEN.
pel's comet has bccn dead only thirty
three hundred years. The cause OF
the explosion was the heat generated
by the rate at which the comet re-
voved as it tore through space. The
sight, as the great fiery body burst
into a million molten fragments, must
have been grand and awful beyond the
powers Of human comprehension.
But for the fragments OF the burn
ing body there could be no rest. The
visible but relentless forces which
drew the larger body through countless
ages along q certain path were at work
also among the shattered flying parti.
cles. They fell into line. The largest
fragments forged TO the front and tho
smaller particles foil In behind for &
million miles and more. The unend
ing journey, interrupted for d while
The course Of Tempel's comet, ant
OF Its subsequent fragments, complete
ly encircies the orbit OF the earth
touching 1t at one place only on it.
outer edge. Once only in thirty thre,
years does Tempel's comet complete it.
orbit, and once only do the fragment
CT the dead comet, myriads in number
trail across the orbit of the earth
When this does happen, however, mil
lions OF these PARTICLES are drawn from
the orbit and fail into the atmosphere
OF the earth with an effect which
dazzles tho spectators.
The single meteor or moteOritc tha
makes when 1t strikes the earth's at
oh
Is nero tramp OF the heavens. 1t il
detached fragment Of some shattcr
cd planet, and 1t wanders moro or les
at random through space until it cOmo
within the circle OF attraction Of SOM
larger body, whom gravity causes it T.
fall. In the course OF It's dcscen
through the atmosphere tho meteo,'it
generates so much heat that 1t is on
tirely consumed the meteor, bein.
larger, continues on and strikes th
earth.
Occasionally the heat generated b,
tEe Il eteor is 80 great that It bursts
before coming In contact with any
sOlid substance. In such q case Il 1,
termed fire. ball. But Lcithcr the
single meteorite nor the meteor can be
observed by the telescope or by the
nnked eye except at the brilliant mo
ment of it's death.
But the comet is q creature OF the
skies moro to be rcckoned with. Ezra
tic as It's wanderings may seem to the
unlearncd, In reality 1T pursues a de-,
hnite course among tho more-ass-a..a,,>-
bit orbits % OF the stars: ieTeth 'es Of uh the
opn1s Which Sravels VARIES M from M the the
- 49, s:.sGtively small distance OF few
hundred millions to one that reaches
into tho thousands of billions The
time which different comets take In
com pleting their orbits varies from
three and half to hundred thousand
years. The preciseness Of astronomi
cal knowledge is such that the exact
rate per second Of the movement oi
these bodies can be determined and
the time at which they will arrive al
Gny given point of their orbits can be
predicted to the second.
Regarding the approaching meteorit
display Prof. William A. Hark moss
who is in charge OF the astronomica
department Of the United States gov
ernment naval observatory, said:
we are unable to predict tho exac
hour at which the November metoori
showers will begin. From tho bcs
present estimates 1t may be eypecte
that the showers will reach a maxi
mum at q. m. on the morning OF tn
18th OF November. They will probabl,
begin three or four hours earlier thar
this to fall in small bursts. They viii
continue throughout the morning o
the 18th of November and will be NOR,
or less observable during the evening
and mornings OF the 18th, 10th and It'll
of November, although on each sue
ceeding day the number OF meteOrs OBJ
servable will diminish.
"These meteors and meteori:os vary
In weight from few grains to many
pounds. They strike the earth's at
mosphere at height OF seventy foul
miles and begin to burn, being entirely
consumed when they are at u height
OF fifty miles.
The phenomenon OF q great mo.
teorio shower Is generally q perfectly
noiseless one. When the streak is first
formed 1t Ia narrow and perfectly
straight, but soon becomes serpentine
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 are OF various colors, owing part
~