File:The story of the sun, moon, and stars (1898) (14778849995).jpg

Identifier: storyofsunmoonst00gibe (find matches)
Title: The story of the sun, moon, and stars
Year: 1898 (1890s)
Authors: Giberne, Agnes, 1845- (from old catalog)
Subjects: Astronomy
Publisher: Cincinnati, National book company
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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sh in the upper regions of our atmospherewould be too faint to reach our sight. The earth, traveling on her narrow orbit round thesun, crosses the track of about one hundred of thesesystems, or rings. Sometimes she merely touches theedge of a ring, and sometimes she goes into the verythick of a dense shower of meteorites. Twice everyyear, for instance, on the 10th of August and the nthof November, the earth passes through such a ring,and very many falling stars may be seen on thosenights. Numbers of little meteorites, dragged fromtheir orbits and entangled in the earths atmosphere,like a fly caught in a spiders web, give their dyingflash, and vanish. It used to be supposed that the 9o STORY OF THE SUN, MOON, AND STARS. August and November meteorites belonged to onesingle system; but now they are believed to be twoentirely distinct systems. The comet discovered on February 27, 1827, byBiela, and ten days later at Marseilles by Gambart,who recognized that it was the same as that of 1772
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THE GREAT SHOWER OF SHOOTING-STARS, NOVEMBER 27, 1872. and 1805, returned six and a half years later, in 1832.In fact it crossed, as we have seen, the plane of theterrestrial orbit at the respectable distance of fiftymillions of miles from the earth; but if there wasany danger in this meeting, it was rather for it thanfor us; for it was certainly strongly disturbed in itscourse. It returned in 1839, but under conditionstoo unfavorable to enable it to be observed—in themonth of July, in the long days, and too near thesun. It was seen again in 1845, on November LITTLK SERVANTS. 91 25th, near the place assigned to it by calculation, andits course was duly followed. Everything went on tothe general satisfaction, when—unexpected spectacle!—on January 13, 1846, the comet split into two! Whathad passed in its bosom? Why this separation? Whatwas the cause of such a celestial cataclysm? We donot know; but the fact is, that instead of one comet,two were henceforth seen, which continued to

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