of November 18'J6. 8^ 



ance about twelve o'clock on Saturday night last, and continued 

 their descent until daylight next morning. It is said the'r num- 

 ber was not near so great as that of the " falling stars'" three 

 years since, but the spectacle is represented as having been very 

 brilliant and unusual." 



From the foregoing accounts compared, we are led to con- 

 clude that the meteoric shower increased in intensity from north 

 to south, that of South CaroHna having been the most consider- 

 able of all, so far as accounts have reached us. 



Does not the recurrence of this phenomenon for six successive 

 years, at the same period of the year^ plainly shew its connec- 

 tion with the progress of the earth in its orbit ? and does not the 

 fact, that tlie greatest display occurs every where in places dif- 

 fering Avidely in longitude at the same hour of the day, as plain- 

 ly indicate its connection with the motion of the earth on its axis ? 

 The supposition of a body in space, consisting of an immense 

 collection of meteors stretching across the earth's orbit obliquely, 

 so that the earth passes under it in its annual progress, while 

 places on its surface lying westward of each other are succes- 

 sively brought, by the diurnal revolution, to the point of nearest 

 approach, will satisfy both these conditions. I can think of no 

 other that will. The " point of nearest approach" may be 

 merely the extremity, or the sJc'irt of the nebulous body ; while 

 the greatest part of it, and, consequently, its centre of gravity, 

 lies too distant from the earth to be much influenced by its gra- 

 vity. It would not be at all inconsistent with the known extent 

 of astronomical bodies, to give to the body in question a breadth 

 of thousands, and a length of millions of miles. It was an acci- 

 dental observation, made after the conclusion was formed, which 

 ascribes the origin of meteoric showers to a revolving nebulous 

 body, that first led me to suspect the zodiacal light to be the 

 body in question. This, according to Laplace, is such a nebu- 

 lous body, revolving round the sun in the plane of the solar 

 equator.* 



We actually observe it to reach over the orbit of the earth, 

 making an angle with its plane of only seven and a quarter de- 

 grees. It is not difficult to place it in such a situation, that the 

 earth shall come very near to the shirts of it at least. We should, 



* Mec. Celeste (Bowditcli), vol. ii. 025. 



