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POPULAR SCIENCE REVIEW. 
orbit of Uranus, the case is far different. The part of the meteoric ring- 
traversed at one passage has travelled away more than a 100,000,000 of 
miles, when the earth next crosses the stream. Therefore to understand the 
recurrence of star-showers during two successive years only — and we have 
well authenticated instances of showers occurring three or four years suc- 
cessively — one must conceive a stream of meteors extending more than a 
100 miles in length. 
This being the case it is the more remarkable to find the important 
November shooting-star displays, which have continued for at least 600 
years, associated with a telescopic comet which has escaped discovery until 
quite recently. Yet it results from Adams’ discovery that the orbit of the 
November shooting-stars accords in the most remarkable manner with the 
orbit of Comet I, 1866 — a minute tailless comet discovered in January of 
that year by M. Tempel. Professor Adams’ elements of the November 
meteors are here compared with Dr. Oppolzer’s elements of Tempers 
comet : — 
Period . 
Mean distance 
Eccentricity . 
Perihelion distance 
November Meteors. Comet 1, 18G6 
33-25 (assumed) 33-18 
10-3402 10-3248 
0-9047 0-9054 
0-9855 0-9765 
o / o / 
Inclination 16 46 17 18 
Longitude of node . . . 51 28 51 26 
Distance of Perihelion from node . 6 51 9 2 
Direction of motion Petrograde. Retrograde. 
This evidence following on Schiaparelli’s proof of the close accordance 
between the orbits of the August meteors, and that of Comet II, 1862, seems- 
all but decisive. The association of comets — and especially of comets of 
eccentric orbit — with shooting stars, is certainly one of the last that would 
have occurred even to the most speculative astronomer, yet it is now esta- 
blished on a foundation that will not'be readily shaken. 
Mr. Cleveland Abbe has discussed in an interesting paper the important 
question of the distribution of nebulae in space. He exhibits in a table the 
number of irresolvable nebulae contained in each space of the heavens ex- 
tending 10 in declination and half an hour in right ascension. The result is- 
confirmatory in some respects of that deduced by Sir John Herschel from 
the tabulation of a smaller number of nebulae of all classes. There is a de- 
cided paucity of nebulae in the region traversed by the Milky Way and its- 
outliers, and an equally marked aggregation towards the poles of the 
Galactic circle. Mr. Abbe therefore follows Herschel in the opinion that the 
irresolvable nebulae are independent universes similar to the Milky Way in. 
character, and that the magellanic clouds are members of this 11 system of 
universes,” which happen to lie somewhat nearer than the others to our own 
universe, the Galaxy. Without pronouncing a decided opinion against these 
views we must point out that the method of tabulation adopted by Mr. Abbe 
is not very well adapted to exhibit any tendency there may exist to sys- 
tematic distribution. The method described in Sir John Herschel’s Cape 
observations seems better fitted for this purpose, and perhaps if applied tor 
