NOVEMBER METEORS. 



67 



the fear of the civilized nations of Europe and Asia. The Chinese records 

 furnish reports of these star-showers observed as early as 644 B. C. 

 Sixteen falls of Aerolites are noted in the annals of the Chinese empire 

 from 700 B. C. to 300 A. D. Greek and Roman writers only mention 

 four during the same period. It would be an easy and pleasant task, to 

 give lists with dates of all the grand showers of these wonderful bodies, — 

 to give instances of huge solid flaming balls rushing downwards from the 

 vast eternity of boundless space and burying themselves in the soil, — to 

 tell of vast swarms of smaller meteoric stones being scattered over many 

 square miles of country, — to detail the curious and beautiful theories 

 which have been proposed to account for these fiery visitors from the 

 celestial depths, — but on the present occasion we must confine our remarks 

 to the periodic star-showers, usually called the August and November 

 Meteors. These we shall distribute under the following heads : — 1. The 

 periodicity of the November Meteors. 2. The point of departure. 3. 

 Their velocity and elevation. 4. The nature of such meteors. 5. The 

 November meteors since the middle of the 18th Century. 



1. The periodicity of the (jrand^ November Meteors may be said to 

 have been already discovered. Careful examination of ancient astronomical 

 records, vigilant and accurate observations during the last 100 years, the 

 application of mathematics to the subject, have all contributed in fmrnish- 

 ing trustworthy data for the solution of the problem. About 33 years 

 are found to elapse between two such displays as we witnessed on 

 Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. Some weeks ago Mr. Alexander 

 Herschell wrote thus—" The main body of the meteors is expected to visit 

 the western shores of the Atlantic Ocean towards sunrise on the 16th of 

 November." Giber's, the astronomer, fixed 1867 as the year for the 

 magnificent spectacle seen this month. There is some uncertainty about 

 the dates given for the star-showers in the other months of the year, but 

 those given below are perhaps the most reliable. 



2. The point of Departure. — On this subject there is but little 



+ It may here be remarked that although the displays are unusually grand in 

 November and August, it must not be supposed that they are confined to these two 

 months. On the contrary, an unusual number of ordinary shooting stars and often 

 fine balls of fire are often seen in other months. The following dates may be accept- 

 able to many, and are therefore given here : — January 1st to 3rd ; April 18th to 20th ; 

 May 28th, July 26th to 30th ; August 2nd to 5th and lOth ; October 19th to 26th; 

 November 12th to Uth ; December 9th to 12th. 



