Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1919-12-21
MHEDRs USUALLY SMALL
EU& INTO ATMOSPHERE
q OF EARTH AND ARE BURNED
Se1eFtfst Estimates That 40O.OOO.Oon OF
Minute Bodies Come EarthVard
49, Each Dny.
tHY GARRETT T.. sERNISS.

Seee %eaSe tell us something about the
Noyenber metcors Are there more of
ehsnS In November than in the other
months? If so. why? Is it true that
our garth IS getting bigger. by weight.
on account OF mcteorites and their dust
or agnes falling upon tic. L. b
Z Thu two great meteor. months" are
August and November tho former be-
ing ScInarkabic for the regularity or
its '&howcrs" and the latter for their
number and occasional briiliancy.
MScors that appear i'll considerable
numbers. constituting a shower" al
ways have a focal point in the sky
at which their tracks. when traced
backward. meet like the ribs OF an UNI
TITS does not mean tina, all the
seentto start. from the focus, or .'radi-
rcctbns Of flight arc always away
from tina; point. some moving east,
some west. somc north. some south.
when the shower is very rich ono
that enough mcteors arc visible stimuli
<enesusly 10 produce the impression
from some central point on the back
sroutd OF the stars. 4 marvellous In
STANCE Of that Kind was the famous
and Is. 1898 '''''-
: Called "ShootiuE stars
:ssea,Ins s,a5s on aI iRHE'" s Ss a.
This;is an unfortunate name, since it
lhcysare. stars that have shot from
their; spheres" They are not stars
and have no connection With stars.
STATS are distant suns many OF them
Vastly larger than our sun, while mo-
,eoIS are minute PARTICLES. averaging
psrhsps less ;lrin an ounce IN weight
which rush into the enrth's atmosphere
fromfr!thout and are burned up, usu-
ally within less than q second, by tho
,ntenfe heat developed from their fric-
avSt numbers of meteors are so
Smalt that they can only be seen with
Lex eeineSSss9p n II has been estimated that
9noSrRere surrounding the earth every
twenfy-four hours II they weigh on
1n me kssessf fs, an ounce ounce, apisco that would
and fhus 4.SeS,000 tons would DO added
:, MHs,,G to the earth But at that rate
OF years to double the earsh's weish,:
Often Weigh Many Pounds.
while the majority OF meteors arc
very small, few are relatively large,
; H., nay ,haS y, weigh several pounds apiece.
Eion sbove made. Then there arc other
podtaH, variouSly called moteorftes- on,
nondSs. or IRE balls, moro startling in
whice they, greatly exceed in marni.
snds;sthoush incomparabiy fewer in.
a 0nss s anxsE acP sey 5 In snGw
90 brilliant that they light UP tho night
10 Sr "a ie& seco1ds with the brightness
pale GOT fire rushing across the sky
learifg trains OF sparks and luminous
snloke Frequently they explode with
nnmnae roos noise, and scatter frag-
squlif miles. of ground. Some of tho
fragments weigh tens o? hundreds Of
bounds ana penetrate several feet into
There are two principal classes of
me iron, meieoritcs, The natter arc
NJ lSyed with few per cent OF nick-
81. specimens may he seen in most
'anTgtshatnrai history museums.
;, u,f t.I nuihher of mo!eoriies is insig-
iaetcTS. None cc the latter reaches
the &rth before being dissipatcd in
aasi End smoke, while the mcteorites
are 80 iaTSe and solid that only por-
ION Sc their exterior is melted on by
tho' iSat Of atmospheric friction.
Lconids Move swiftly.
MNIe various opinions are enter
;aIned az to the origin OF neteoritcs.
y has long been scnerai!; believed by
me 'neteors: originate from the disin-
IsEration of comets. They appear in
some eases 70 follow in The tracks OF
Eases: The parent comets appear 10
nave been entirely disSipatcd into
,war1s or meteo!s. The two PRINCIPAL
Hoyenbcr showers are notable in
i.eonHs. which have their radiant point
i, the constellation leo. travel in tho
irhch:ot TcmpeIs comet. while the An
constellation Andronle,la appear tc, he
All t!yat i. left OF Bielas comet which
was seen 20 spill; in two IN ls4e. and