102 



THOUGHTS ON THE INFLUENCE OF ETHER 



ing current of ether, carried to the region of the planets; that the stream of metallic 

 vapor* reaching the earth's orbit, at the time and place where the planet is passing, will 

 be ignited by its atmosphere, and produce the phenomenon of a shower of shooting stars; 

 and lastly, that the stream which produced the meteors of November 12th, in the years 

 1799 and 1833, issued from one and the same spot upon the sun's surface. 



An encounter between the metallic stream and the earth, can only occur at two points 

 in its orbit, viz., where it passes through the centre of the ethereal current. Our experi- 

 ence with the seasons has determined these epochs to be the 10th August, and about the 

 11th November. The incident can only take place at those times, when the portion of 

 the sun's surface which emits the metallic stream is favorably situated to produce an en- 

 counter with the earth. 



A candid listener, on hearing this proposition, would, in view of the overwhelming odds 

 against finding a coincidence, be apt to exclaim, " We will grant your postulates, if you 

 can show the existence of a cycle of solar rotation coinciding with thirty-four orbital revo- 

 lutions of the earth." 



Unpromising as the chance of finding the required coincidence may appear, it neverthe- 

 less exists ; and is, moreover, one of remarkable exactness. 



If we take the number of days in the sidereal year, and multiply it by the interval be- 

 tween the two great exhibitions of shooting stars, and divide the product by the period of 

 the sun's rotation, thus,f 365.256 x 34 = 12418.704 -=- 25.5 - 487.008, we shall get as a 

 quotient the number 487. 



The coincidence may be made more striking by another mode of exhibition: 

 365.256 x 34 = 12418.704. 

 25.5 x 487 = 12418.5. 



Thus, we find there is a cycle of solar rotation, in which 487 rotations of the sun cor- 

 respond in period with 34 revolutions of the earth in its orbit ; thus, too, it is proved by 

 the simplest rules of arithmetic, that any part of the sun's surface, turned towards the 

 earth at any given point in its orbit in the year 1799, was also turned towards the earth 

 at the same point in its orbit in the year 1833, and will be again in the years 18(57 and 

 1901. 



The difference between the two periods is only two-tenths of a day, or four hours and 

 forty-eight minutes. , 



* I have used the expression, metallic vapor, for want of a better, to describe the condition of the metals when 

 in the sun's atmosphere, and while being; transported by the ethereal current to the earth's orbit. 



A metallic vapor, doubtless, it is while in the sun's atmosphere, but the many recorded occurrences of the fall 

 of meteoric <luxt, may give us a clue to the true condition of the metals while making the journey through the 

 planetary spaces. 



f Astronomic Populaire, vol. ii, p. 86. 



