The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1901-10-31
METEORIC DISPLAY.
Scheduled For November Fourteen and
Fifteen,

VIII the meteOrlC shower OF
1899, 1888, and 1867 repeat itself
this year is query now much in
the minds of inquiring and OBJ
serving astronomers. For two
veNovembers manyhours
have been filched from sleep that
the wonder of life time may be
seen in the peacefulness of the
night. A display of light and
motion that far surpass in mag.
nificence and sublimity anything
that the hand of man ever made.
Waiting, watching, hoping in
1899, was repeated in 1900, but
the stars and constellation march
ed across the armament in beauty
and silence without shower of
meteors to detract from their
beauty. The earth passed across
the path of the Leonides without
meeting these mysterious strang.
ers. 1t was tacitly agreed that
the path of these meteors had
shifted or these particles of a
dead world had burned out and
their orbit was a vacant space in
the universe and the wonder of
many generations would no long
er amaze and astonish the earth.
At these periods we endeavored
to give our readers a knowledge
of them and an opportunity to
see the sky filled with falling
stars and witness display of
grandeur that neither tongue nor
pen could describe. We told
them all we knew about the me-
teors and much more, but they,
like the rest of the globe, were
disappointed and lost faith in hu-
man foreknowledge. We do not
wish to raise their expectations
and start them on another wild
goose chase across the midnight
skies, but we have learned some
thing new about these travellers
of light and haved decided to ad-
wise them TO brush up their mem
cries and recall the stories of two
years since and again get ready
for a watch on the night of No
vember Is, next. Prof. F. Mac
Bennett, of Long Island City,
New York, has been giving these
disappointing visitors some at
tention and in the Scientific
American states his reasons why
we may look for the shooting
stars next month. The period of
their absence has been fixed at
thirty three and quarter years
and that would make their return
in 1899. But the time consumed
on their journey around their or.
bit has been more correctly esti-
mated by "Prof. McClune, of
Philadelphia, who, with Prof.
Herrick, of Yale, and a few 9th
ers correctly estimated the per-
iod in 1867, putting it at "a years
and / day, or to be more accurate
12, ,419 days. Thus, the first re-
corded shower was witnessed on
the night of November 11-12, 1899;
the next on that of November IL.
13, 1888; the following one occur.
ring on November 1914; 1867; Sc
that the next becomes due on the
night of November 14-15, 1901
in few weeks hence"
II the earth were to stop at the
point where it meets the Leonides
we could witness their fiery pass
age every night for three years
AS they would come into view the
first year the number would be
few, since we would see it at the
head of the stream, "where the
swarm is thin" The second
year the dense portion would
pass by and the field of vision
would be full of shooting stars,
The third year would be light
shower. The earth finds nothing
to obstruct it's passage and since
the planets pay no attention to
courtesy, but keep on in the
seven tenor Of their way" il
pushes across the path of the
Leonides and our view of the
beauty and sublimity of the scene
is limited from six to eight hours
the time consumed in crossing it