The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1933-10-27
METEOR SHOW
is BOOKED FOR
NOVEMBER SKY
Earth to Enter Cluster of
Celestial Sparks in
Few Weeks.
BY JAMES STOKLEY
Astronomical Writer. Science Service

Copyright 1898, by Science Servicel
PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 27.-Once
again, the Leonid shower of shoot
ing stars is the main attraction on
the celestial calendar for November.
Perhaps this year we shall see dis
play the like of which can be re-
called by few now living.
We may see a shower of meteors
rivaling that of 1866, or even that
of November. 1888, when the whole
sky was thick with their flashing
light But. again, We may be dis
appointed, as we were in 1899. 1t
should be pointed out right here
that meteor showers do not appear
with the certainty of eclipses and
many other astronomical events.
No blame should be attached to
the astronomer for his inability to
predict them precisely. The I'M
certainty is inherent in the nature
Of the beast. Take an eclipse of the
sun, for instance. We are riding
around on the earth and can OBJ
serve its position among the other
heavenly bodies at any part of its
orbit.
The moon, too, we can observe in
practically all places of its path
around us. The result is that it's
orbit, and that of the earth, can be
calculated with great accuracy, and
we know just when the moon is
going to come between the sun and
! earth, producing an eclipse.
MeteOrs Are Small Bodies
Meteors, commonly called shoot
ing stars, are vastly different. They
are exceedingly tiny bodies gen.
orally no larger than a grain of
sand, or at best, the head of a pin
We can not observe them until they
enter the earth's atmosphere, where
the friction with the air burns them
in a flash, destroying them COM
pletly
1t is only in their last moments
of existence that we see them, but
4 from their behavior then the as
tronomer assumes that others are
coming along in similar manner.
Il sees, he has to work backward. and
3 calculate just how they moved to get
there. And when this path may
CAOCIlQ DdSh Illl1lOIlS u IllIeS, 10 Tile
4 outer reaches of the solar system,
& one can readily understand some of
q the difficulties.
n Despite all this, astronomers who
4 specialize in the study of meteors
4 think that there is a fairly good
4 chance of a fine display of shooting
n stars about Nov. II. These meteors
n revolve around the sun in a swarm
n which describes huge ellipse. When
closest to the sun they are about as
far from that body as the earth;
q when most distant, as far as the
q planet Uranus, about 1882, 900, 900
"a miles.
Main Showers Are Rare
But they are not uniformly dis
y tributed around this elongated
a doughnut. There is one clump
which contains the vast majority
while relatively few are scattered
around the rest of the ellipse.
The result is that while the earth
each November crosses their path,
producing a few more meteors than
on other nights of the year, there
is only great shower when we hit
the main cluster. And this cluster
takes thirty three years to travel
n once around.
There was a fine shower of the
II November shooting stars in 1899,
again in 1888, and still again,
n though slightly inferior, in 1866, in
tervals of approximately thirty
three years. Naturally, a shower
81 was expected in 1899, but it failed
to appear, much to the disappoint-
q ment of astronomers, both amateur
and professional, who looked for it,
Later is was shown that q few
M years previously the swarm had
passed close to the giant planet
Jupiter, which, by thes gravitational
attraction, had pulled the swarm
aside little so that it detoured
the earth.
One English astronomer pointed
out few weeks before the sched-
ule date of the shower that this had
happened, but facilities for dissent
mating scientific information rapids
ly were not as good then as they
are today, and most people conf
AZ
New Moon Darkens Sky
AS result of these experiences,
astronomers are properly very eau
tious about predicting a shower for
n this year, but there is some hope
that we may have one. After rather
feeble displays of the November
meteors for number of years, 1880
brought fairly good one, and this
was followed by a shower even more
brilliant in 1881.
Fortunately this year the moon is
new on the crucial night, Nov. Is,
which means that the sky will be
dark all night. OF course, the lights
of city can produce just as much
glare as the moon, so If you want
to see them you had better go as
far out into the country as pos
Sible.
Most of the meteors are seen after
midnight because then they meet
the earth head-on. Those that ap-
pear in the evening sky have to
catch up with it.
All Burn Up in Air
Unless Lne shower is lar more Zee
bic than we expect, you will see
them at the rate of several
minute, and occasionally you will
see brilliant fire ball" which will
be more brilliant than any star or
planet, and which may leave a trail
visible for several minutes.
But you need have no fear that
any Of these will hit you. Even
such brilliant one is perhaps no
larger than golf ball when it en-
tiers the atmosphere, and it is COM
pletely burned in its passage long
before it comes near the earth's