A RECENT STAR SHOWER. 20$ 



explanation of other circumstances which, had not 

 hitherto been interpreted. All that is necessary to 

 secure such a result is (ordinarily) to examine the new 

 theory with care and attention, noting in particular 

 the consequences which would follow if the theory were 

 true. Let us see what follows from the adoption of 

 such a course in the present instance. 



Let us begin by supposing that at some far distant 

 epoch, the four giant planets were all in the position of 

 minor suns, erupting from time to time, and with great 

 energy, masses of vaporous and molten matter, much 

 (in their degree) as the sun is now understood to do. 

 Then, whenever such masses were flung forth with 

 sufficient force to overcome the attraction of the parent 

 planet, they would forthwith revolve on an orbit round 

 the sun. Now, those that the planet shot out in the 

 same direction that itself was travelling in, would travel 

 faster than the planet and follow a wider orbit. We 

 should never see any traces of such masses, for they 

 would always lie far beyond our range of view. It is 

 reasonable to conclude that we should have the best 

 chance of detecting those which were shot backwards 

 so as to have their velocity as greatly reduced as 

 possible. But without for the moment insisting on 

 this, it is evident that for the ejected matter ever to 

 come into our neighbourhood, it must have its 

 perihelion (or place of nearest approach to the sun) 

 somewhere near the earth's path, and its aphelion 

 somewhere near the path of its parent planet. Only a 

 small proportion of the ejections would be such as to 



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