The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1921-08-16
or MANY METEORIC
SHOWERS IN AUGUST
OCCUR ABOUT MIDDLE
WIZ TUE MONTH. MOST PLEN-
or ,Ir1rI. IN THE MORNING.

.,ortb brings one of the finest
, he annual meterOic showers, that
o. 81 t he Pcrseids. They are most pienti-
Oh IN ~ the morning hours, but many
fu III b he seen throughout the night. The
VIII ,sr lasts from week to ten days
S ,,t the middle of the month, says
1 n1 c. S. Brainin, of the Columbia
~ l,niversity Observatory staff.
W. u the paths Of these so called shoot
-. stars are plotted on map OF the
~s .aos and then continued backwards
MO- tbe map in the direction from which
's.r came it will be found that all the
~" .,s come fairly close together in the
p'., ,tsllation of Perseus. This common
Con cons ;s called radiant, and showers
POM ron,ed according to the constelia-
ale - which their respective radiants
ton RVS r. we have also the Leonids,
ne 'L;cb come annually on November ID,
a MitI' the Andromids, which appear on
NV SE,,rh misconception exists concern
Mt these shooting stars" and it can
my do,,bt be traced directly to this
n NJ name. In reality they are not
po ogo at all; no matter how many
Ss ldn' stars" are seen, all our old
IDS in the heavens are serenely
lhin;ng in their accustomed places.
T 25i,,,, are simply tiny particles OF mat
49, ~ {or the greater part no larger than
8 .'i, mail pea, which happen to come
q 20 contact with the earth's atnos-
n rt'g Whatever their origin may have
P P they had been passing through
s So following the all compelling law
n qrayitation, just as any larger body
would have to do.
Moving probably with great speed
haCanse of the absence of friction in
Ssrnnty" space, they suddenly fall into
the dense atmosphere and the heat en-
nendered by this sudden meeting rails
e the meteor and the neighboring air
N luminosity and usually entirely con-
sumes the former. Sometimes one OF
these bodies is large enough not to
become entirely consumed, and, reach
ing the earth's surface, hnds a hnal
resting place in one of our museums.
MANY such specimens have thus found
their way into captivity.
Contain Terrestrial Elements.
Meteorites contain both rocky and
metallic material. Many of our terres-
trial elements have been found in them
and no substance which is unknown to
us has as yet been discovered. Iron
and nickel are the commonest metals
in meteorites, but the presence OF
platinum has been definitely ascertain
ed. The absence of elements not 9TH
erwise found in the earth's crust is in
terpreted in two possible ways: 1t the
meteorites originated outside of the
solar system it seems to indicate that
the starry world contains no elements
which we do not possess and 1t argues
for the general homogeneity OF the
universe; on the other hand, what Is
more likely is that it argues for an
origin of the meteorS within the con-
fines OF the solar system.
We know the immediate origin OF
at least some of these wanderers OF
space Years ago a comet whose re-
turn had been calculated for certain
time disappointed the astronomers, but
in its stead there appeared most nd
eral meteoric shower. 1t was imme-
diately found by calculation, based up
on the observed tracks of the meteors,
that the general mass of these particles
occupied a path which they closely
conceded with the orbit of the expect
ed comet. No doubt, then, the meteors
were the PARTICLES of the disintegrated
comet, and evenaup to the present these
meteors make their periodic appear
ance as luminous shooting stars"
Many astronomers today favor the
theory that the comets themselves orig
mated within the solar system, affect
ing thus directly our notions of the
origin of at least some of the meteors;
for we cannot say with certainty that
all meteors are the debris of comets.
----@----