The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-10-23

shooting stars" are not really stars
Real stars are giant and distant suns,
shining by their own light. They are
cold. dark bodies, which become hot
and visible when they strike the air
surrounding the earth. The velocity
of their motion is, on the average, about
twenty-five miles a second, and so when
they dash into the earth's atmosphere
the friction of the air produces a tenn
perature of many thousand degrees.
The result is that, as these bodies are
usually very small, they are completely
evaporated and dissipated. Sometimes
quite large bodies are able to resist this
tremendous frictional heating and then
the residues reach the earth Such
bodies when found are called meteor
ties. meteoric stones, aeroliteS (air-
stones) or uranoliths (heaven-stones).
What Meteorites Are Made Of.
Some consist of nearly pure iron with
nickel. others are stony, and still others
are mainly stony with grains and glob-
ules of iron. Comparatively very few
meteors have been seen to fall. Their
chemical and meteorological character
is such that they can be Identified as
meteors. it is supposed, without any
one seeing them fall. The number of
shooting stars visible to the naked eye
is far greater than one would imagine
who only glance1s at the sky now and
then. A single observer can Sees on the
average. about five an hour. But such
a group of watchers can observe, ordi-
narily. only those stars which shoot
within 200 or 800 miles of their observ-
ing station. If, therefore, the whole
earth were covered with observers
enough to see all the heavens, it has
been calculated by the late Professor
Newton of Yale university. that the
number visible daily would be between
Il. OOO. 600 and 20,O00,000 When to this
number we add those which are too
faint TO be seen by the naked eve, we
reach a total which may run up TO
100 OO0, O00 We are therefore forced TO
the conclusion that interplanetary
spaces are quite rich in such bodies.
Investigations show that these shoOlllis
stars are of a gregarious temperament
Millions travel together in the same
swarm or group. They have plenty OF
room. the separate bodies frequently
being miles apart.
Shower of Shooting Stars.
The terrestrial inhabitant is hence
treated to a most awe-lnsplrlng anu
dazzling display when the earth en-
counters such a group.
Astronomers expect to see such an
encounter next November, about the
14th or 18th. If their calculations be
correct. watchers all over the earth
NAV at the time named see a splendid
display of the heavens fireworks.
Clouded skies can cut out any view
and as the moon will be very nearly
full on November. Is Gull moon occurs
on Nov. I'D her light will certainly OBJ
scure the faint trails of many shooting
stars.
The best to observe is between mid
night and the sunrise twilight. We
are then on the advancing front of
the earth and will see those meteors
we catch up with or meet. During the
hours previous to midnight we see
only those shooting stars which over
take us on the earth. Riding on the
cowcatcher of a locomotive engine in
the midst of downpour OF rain we are
certain to get wetter than if we sat
on the platform of the rear car. The
illustration is only suggestive.
The STORY of the November meteors"
is most interesting and instructive.
The astronomers have been able to
work out the life history of these
meteors from the observations made.
In 1899 S. Humboldt saw from the
Andes mountains a grand star shower,
and in 1888 there was another great
meteoric display. Many thousands fell
in the course of a few hours. Professor
Newton of New Haven investigated the
matter. looked up old records of star