8 Mr. J. N. Lockyer. On the Classification [Apr. 12, 



Fig. 3. — Suggestion as to the origin of a nebulous star. The orbits of the inner set 

 of meteorites are very elliptic, so that the shell of intersection appears almost 

 as a point. As in the previous cases, the left-hand diagram represents the 

 meteoric systems in section, and the right-hand one the appearance from a 

 point outside. 



to come to the centre, will either dislodge some nebulosity which is 

 already deposited, or slide npon it sideways, and in both cases produce 

 a circular motion ; so that, in fact, we can hardly suppose a possible 

 production of a globular form without a subsequent revolution of 

 nebulous matter, which in the end may settle in a regular rotation 

 about some fixed axis." 



Given, then, a globular swarm with a rotation around an axis, we 

 have to discuss the phenomena produced by collisions under a new 

 set of circumstances. 



Here at once we have to account for the fact that the nearly 

 spherical forms are very short-lived, for they are very rare ; we seem 

 to jump, as it were, from globes to very extended spheroids. 



If it be conceded that from the above considerations we are justified 

 in supposing that the elliptic and other spheroidal nebulae really repre- 

 sent a higher stage of evolution than those presented to us by the 

 globular form, it is clear that on the meteoritic hypothesis the greater 

 part of the phenomena will represent to us what happens to such a 

 system under the condition of a continuous bombardment of meteor- 

 ites from without. 



So soon as we have a minor axis, there will at first be most colli- 

 sions caused by the movements of meteors, the paths of which are 

 most nearly parallel to it ; the result of this will be that the equatorial 

 plane will be intensified, and then, later on, if we conceive the system 



