The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-11-15
THE LEONID METEORS.
The Display May BE Looked for on
Saturday Night.
phi1o 6alnhio Da1nrd


Philadelphia Record.
Observation of these interesting meteors
this year will be seriously impeded by full
moon, which will obliterate all but the
brightest Whether there will be an un-
usually fine display or only the ordinary
one is as problematic as il was last year
Prof w. II. Pickering, of the Harvard
College Observatory. who has given in the
last few years considerable attention to
this meteor system, finds reasons for
thinking that IL not yet too late for the
shower" which has been vainly looked for
in the last two or three years.
This meteor system is. apparently, a
much less simple and orderly affair than,
since its general character was clearly
made out some thirty years ago, it has
been supposed to be. OF the nature of a
meteor there is no longer a question. Me-
teors, or shooting stars" as is their more
popular designation are simply bits of solid
mater, stone or metal, which the earth
encounters In Its annual passage around
the sun, and which. plunging into its at
mosphere with terrific velocity. are quick
ly consumed by hhe heat engendered by the
friction and pressure of the air. These
tiny bodies appear to exist within the linz
its of the solar system land probably
throughout interstellar space, in innumer-
III.
they are grouped into systems and circle
round the sun in shoals or cutters, with
the regularity of the planets. These Le-
onids form such a system. They travel
in very elliptical orbit of such size that
they make in 1t but three revolutions in a
century-an orbit which crosses or at least
passes very close to that of the earth. at
point at which the earth arrives annu-
ally about the middle of this month The
meteors are scattered more or less thickly
all around the orbit, and, therefore, are
encountered annually by the earth in
greater or less number The great mass
of the meteors however. appear to be dis
tr1buted over a small section of the orbit
and an. 1t Is when the earth plunges through
this particular section that those wonder
ful meteor showers of which history con-
tains many records take place. This much
has been satisfactorily established. The I'M
certainty Is TO the form, size and gen.
eral makeup of this main stream or cus-
ter. 1t has been supposed to be about
10000 miles in breadth. OF a fairly uniform
density, and of such length as TO REQUIRE
over two years to pass the earths orbit
The experience of observers in the last
three years renders Ii doubtful, however
IL there is any such regularly formed sim
gle cluster 1t seems more probable that
the meteor stream consists of more or less
separated punches or subordinate clusters
The extraordinary display occurs whenever
the earth happens TO strike one of these
punches, and IL may last no longer than
two or three hours. in which case only those
who have the good luck to be favorably
situated at the time can witness it, In
this way can be explained the fact, which
Is apparent in the recent reports of me-
teor observers al various stations that the
particularly rich displays are apt TO he
local AS an illustration. last year in this
vicinity the exhibit was decidedly ordinary
while in several points in the United States
farther west and south the fall was de-
scribed as magnificent.
Last year the best of the display came or
the morning of Nov. 10 This year IL NAV
be looked for on the same date, and may
possibly be delayed until the 18th. The
meteor "radiant'-the point from which
at about the center of sickle in the con-
stellation Leo-now rises at about mid
night 1t is useless to look for the meteors
seen the most abundant between the hours
of and a. m.