Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1902-11-06
METEORlC SHOWER
Brilliant Displays That May Be
Looked For This Month.
The Famous Leonids Shower Expected
Between November IL and 14-The
Andromedes Due on the 25th-
Position Of Stars During the
Month.

At the beginning Of November we have
the advance guard of the beautiful winter
considerations well UP In the evening sky.
Later in the month we may look for six
instinct meteor showers, according to the
authority of careful astronomical observ-
ers. This ought to be sufficient To give
zest to the study OF the sky to the most
| languid of amateurs. The best known of
these showers is, of course, the famous
| boonids which occur in greater or less
| numbers about November IL to IA of each
| year. A few times each century they APP
| pear In such numbers as to produce the
| magnificent spectacle of a heaven ablaze
| with falling stars. In 1899 and 1900 this
display was eagerly watched for. but with
disappointing results. 1t must be dis
| tinctly remembered, however that some
of these meteors fall every year, and the
watcher may be well rewarded at any
time. Something over thousand years
| ago this immense body of distinct but as
| ISOLATED particles wandered into the solar
| system from the vast depths of outer
! space and, falling under the influence of
the great planet Uranus, had their mo-
| mcntum so checked that they were unable
| TO escape from the gravitative powers of
the sun and will circle about that body
until the end of time or until the solar
system has returned to the nebula from
which it came.
All the time these particles are flying
on their passage around the sun, making
| their endless journey of 1000 coo 900 miles
anu back again in space of about thirty
three years. Once year we pass through
| this swarm like a bird skimming across
a stream. The stream flows on pcrpctu-
ally. We circle around and pass 1t once
year. On these occasions we catch a
| few of the bits of matter which are eros
sing directly in our path, while the rest
continue their journey. If the orbit of the
| meteor "A / r
ferent angle it would not be encountered
by the earth and consequently would have
remained forever unknown to us.
How great is the chance that any given
chain of meteors crCling around the sun
will cross the orbit of the earth and SC
give notice of their existence? To give
answer it must be remembered that thes,
intrusive bodies come into space from
every direction and that the earth de
I scribes a circle having diameter of. ir
round figures, 100000 miles. and NOV
ing upon an invariable plane. Into an i'm.
aginary sphere of this diameter, then
plungeS the meteor having its perihelor
within the earths orbit. How remote the
chance that it will cross a slender definite
| line only 5000 miles across as it makes
its plunge into the neghborhood of the
sun. The line is more slender than al
inch rope surrounding a globe a third OF
d mile in diameter. Yet remote as this
|
points have been determined where these
steady flowing meteor streams are annu
ally encountered. The total number mus
be inconceivably vast.
Some of the comets which visit the sur
have orbits which require that they oc
cupy $1,000 years falling downward to-
ward the sun and what applies to comets
applies equally to meteors Yet in the
$1,000 years that they are falling steadily
down so little is the latest movement due
to original impulse that they pass barely
outside the atmosphere of the sun: or, il
other words, this movement was not
greater than ten miles a year! The in.
ference must be that many of these wan.
derers of the sky must have been on theii
travels for not only millions, but thou
sands of millions of years. Il saw a
meteor just now" quietly remarks deni
zen Of the earth as the journey of q
thousand million years is finished for
ever!
Quite as interesting and far more re
liable than the Leonids are the Andrb
modes which fall about the 27th of No
vcmber. These are associated with Biela'
comet, which has been lost for many
years. They have their radiant in tn,
constellation Andromeda, which at tha
time is almost directly overhead during
the evening hours. The Andromedes ar,
bright of a reddish or orange trails. The
other showers are: Nov. !, radiant poin
| in Aries; Nov. IA to IS, in Ursa Ma jor
Nov. 10 to %, in Taurus, and Nov. &c. il
Canes NenatiCi near the star called Coz
| Carroll The above star car
easily be found when above the horizon
rs it is most of the time. by the fact tina
it is the one conspicuous star opposit,
the hollow in the bend of the handle o
the Big Dpper. 1t was named Cor Carroll
Charles cart" in honor of King Charlie,
|. by an astronomer of the Restoration
days. AS stated, it is in the constellation
of the hunting Dogs and admirers o
Oliver Cromwell may get what console
ton they can from the fact that in pic
torial charts of the sky Charles Heart
is placed in the breast of hound. Dur
ing November 1t is not we'll observed un
til after midnight
Jupiter is monarch of tho evening skie
and will maintain his regal state through
out the month. One or two of the fiv
moons of tho great planet may be detect
ed by means of a good opera glass. Jupi
ter is due south at o'clock. setting
little earlier each evening during tn
month. He Is by far the brightest objec
on the southern sky and needs no othe
Identification. Saturn is an hour neare
the western horizon and may be recog
nized as the second brightest star in tina
part of the sky. The moon will be nea
Saturn on the evening of November 6, ant
near Jupiter the evening following.
Venus Is in conjunction with the sun oil
November y and passes from the morn
Ing to the evening sky. During thi
month and next she will be too near tn
sun to be seen to advantage but afte
that we shall have this most beautiful
planet with us for a long time. Mars i
in the morning sky somewhat in advanc
of the bright star Regulus in the constel
lation Leo. Mercury can be seen on tn
morning Of November and one or tw
| af 6inp n