METEORIC STONES AND SHOOTING STABS. 725 



time may be a comet, and at another time a shower of meteors. He first 

 observed that a large and brilliant comet which appeared in 1862, crossed 

 the path of the Earth's orbit in the very region in which the August me- 

 teors appeared. His investigaticwas proved that both the comet and the 

 meteors had traveled along the same path. But with much study and 

 observation it was some time before an attendant on the November train 

 could be found. At last Peters found that a telescopic comet did in fact 

 travel the same path as that of the November meteors. These facts at least 

 showed that close relations existed between comets and meteors, and caused 

 astronomers to study more closely. 



Adams demonstrated that the zone of cosmical bodies forming the me- 

 teor system, had an orbit extending out into space beyond the orbit of 

 Uranus, and the opinion of some astronomers is, that to Uranus do we owe 

 the attraction of these star showers. 



The various meteor systems appear to proceed from or near some fixed 

 point in the heavens. Besides the radiant points above named, there is a 

 prominent shower of November 27, that appears to proceed from (Gamma) 

 Andromedae. 



Meteors chiefly appear between 46 and 92 miles elevation, (mean, ^Q)^ 

 their speed varying from fourteen to one hundred and seven miles per second. 

 A majority of the November meteors seen in 1868, appeared of an orange 

 color, a very few blue. 



In 1866 the portion of the stream of November meteors through which 

 the Earth passed, was 80,000 miles deep. In 1867, the Earth traversed a 

 shallow part of the stream, or 50,000 miles.* Prof. H. A. Newton estimates 

 the thickness of the August ring at five to ten millions of miles; for the 

 Earth moving at the rate of two millions of miles per day, is immersed in 

 it for several days, and in two hundred and eighty-one days, periodic 

 time, he estimates more than 300,000,000,000,000 for the total number in 

 the August ring.f Prof. Twining (J) says : " The conformable meteors of 

 November and August are chiefly to be distinguished from ordinary shoot- 

 ing stars by a massive aspect resulting from a more ardent and copious 

 combustion. They are further distinguished by their numbers and rela- 

 tions to a radiant. Those of ordinary nights also sometimes pursue an 

 erratic course, darting ofl* laterally at the end of their appearance, or wav- 

 ing from side to side, sometimes even appearing to expire twice. 



THE NOVEMBER SHOWER. 



Humboldt gives the following catalogue of the appearances of the No- 

 vember I3th shower: 



* Eclectic Monthly, February, 1870. 



t American Journal of Science. % American Journal of Science, January, 1863. 



