METEORS (OF. meteore, Fr. meteore, from Gk, tartopov, meteciron, meteor, from periwpor, meteOros, on high, from tura, meta, beyond + aetpetv. acirein, to lift). A term now applied by astronomers to those shooting stars that flash into view without detonation or explosion. AS thus characterized, meteors form a class of IKid. ies distinct from the aerolites (q.v.). Some times those meteors of which fragments are not known to reach the earth are called bolides. The phenomena are exactly the same except that the fragments are not actually found.
The brilliant display of November 13, 18Ci, gave a vigorous impulse to astronomical investi.
gation of shooting stars, leading to the discovery that the November meteors move in an orbit round the sun, and that in all probability this orbit forms a ring or belt of innumerable small fragments of matter, distributed with very varia ble density of grouping along it, thus correspond ing so far to the planetoid (q.v.) group be tween Alan; and Jupiter. It is also known that the motion of this meteor ring round the sun is retrograde; that the earth's orbit at that point where she is situated out November 13-14 inter sects this ring; and that, probably in 1709. 1833 V. and 18116-67, it is the same group of meteors which has been observed. The last-mentioned hypothesis has been made the foundation of a calculation of the probable orbit and periodic time of this meteor ring. The fact that a No vember star-shower may occur for two years in succession, and then recur at. an interval of 32 or 33 years, seems to indicate that though the earth may pass through the meteor-orbit every year, the meteors are so grouped at intervals along the ring and their periodic time differs so much from that of the earth that it requires 3d 33 years before this accumulating difference amounts to a complete revolution of either the earth or the ring, and a repetition of the star shower becomes possible.
Professor Newton of Vale, who entered into an elaborate investigation of the subject. concluded that there were live possible periodic times for the meteor ring: rears, 3713 days, 354 days, 1SS days. 177 days. The English astronomer Adams then showed that of these the period was the only one actually consistent with known facts. and this is therefore now accepted as the time required by the November meteors to complete n revolution around the sun.
That there is an intimate relat ion between mete ors and comets is an ascertained fact of much interest. There is a great similarity between the
orbits of some of the more important showers and certain of the comets. a similarity so close as to establish some kind of mysterious rela tionship beyond the possibility of mere coinci dence.
Popular interest, has been very keen in the mate ter of meteors since the brilliant display of 1866. This star-shower, perhaps the grandest that has ever been observed, was confidently pre dicted from the occurrence of a similar shower at the corresponding date in 1799, 1833, and Iti34. The shower commenced about 11:30 P.M., with the appearance at brief intervals of single meteors: then they came in twos and threes, steadily and rapidly increasing in number till 1:13 A.m. on November 11th, when no fewer than 57 appeared in one minute. From this time the intensity of the shower diminished gradually, wholly ceasing about 4 A.M. The total number of meteors which at that time came within the limits of the earth's atmosphere was estimated at about 240,000, and the number seen at each of the several observatories in Great Britain averaged nearly 6,000. This star-shower, like those of 1833 and 1834, seemed to proceed from the region of the heavens marked by the stars r and -y in the constellation Leo; and it has been shown by astronomers that this was the point toward which the earth in her orbit was mov ing at the time; consequently she had either over taken the meteoric shower or had met it proceed ing in a contrary direction. The meteors on that occasion presented the usual variety of color. size, and duration; the great majority were white, with a bluish or yellowish tinge; a con siderable number were red and orange, and a few' were blue; many surpassed the fixed stars in lustre, and some were even brighter than Venus at her maximum. Most of the meteors left trains of vivid light 5° to 15° in length. which marked their course through the heavens, and en dured for three seconds on an average, then be coming dissipated, though some of the trains were almost 40° in length, and remained in sight for several minutes. On the morning of No vember 14. 1867, a star-shower nearly equal in magnitude to that of 1866 was observed in this eountry and in France, but was almost wholly invisible in England on account of the cloudy state of the atmosphere.