68 NOVEMBER METEOES. 



variety of opinion. All observers have agreed that the point in the 

 heavens from which these wonderful bodies shoot forth is either in the 

 constellation of Leo (which lies under the feet of the great Bear), or in 

 that of Perseus (below and to the east of the great W. of Cassiopeia.) 

 The observations made in November 1833, 1836 and 1837, in North 

 America gave Leonis as the point of departure ; while the meteors of 

 August 1839 diverged from Algol, the variable star in Perseus. Saigey 

 remarks that it is only after midnight that Leo is the point of divergence. 

 It has also been noted that the November meteors have paths more 

 divergent than those of August. Other points of divergence are Draco 

 and Ursa Minor for the " fiery tears " of St. Lawrence, and Cassiopeia 

 for the November stream. 



3. Their velociti/ and Elevation. — Heis calculated the height of a 

 falling star seen simultaneously at Breslau and Berlin to be 248 miles 

 when it was first seen, and 168 on its disappearance. Of 100 falling stars, 

 according to Brandes, 4 had an elevation of 4 to 12 miles ; 15 between 12 

 and 24 m.; 22 from 24 to 40; 35 from 40 to 60 m.; 13 from 40 to 

 80 m.; and only 11 above 80 miles. Olber's regarded all heights above 

 120 miles as being uncertain. In order to form a distinct notion of the 

 velocity of these cosmical bodies, it may be well to compare their motions 

 with those of some of the planets. Jupiter moves in his orbit at the rate 

 of 8 miles per second ; Venus at 22 ; Saturn at 6 ; the ]\Ioon at ^ ; the 

 EartJi at 19; and shooting stars at from 18 to 36 miles per second. 

 Fr6m 4,000 observations extending over a period of 9 years, the following 

 proportions of colours have been estimated : — ^ of the shooting stars are 

 white, l-7th yellow, l-17th yellowish red, and only l-37th green * 



4. Nothing very positive can be said as to the nature of these 

 November meteors. Some astronomers regard them as bodies circulating 

 in space about the sun Their path about the centre of our system is 

 thought to be a vast ring which intersects the orbit of the earth in those 

 regions of the sun's apparent path through which we pass in November. 

 At these periods they come in contact with our atmosphere, become ignited 

 and rendered visible. The fact that they all appear to come from one 

 point in the sky, together with the velocity with which they dart across 



• Daring the hour from 1 to 2 a m . Xovember 14th, the greatest number of the 

 most splendid meteors had beautiful green trains although the nuclei were bright 

 yellow or white. 



