It is also worthy of notice that Dr. Oppolzer's elements of the first comet of 1866 resemble, in a remarkable manner, those of the meteoric ring, supposing the latter to have a period of about 33-1/4 years. Schiaparelli's elements of the November ring, and Oppolzer's elements of the comet of 1866, are as follows: November Comet of Meteors. 1866. Longitude of perihelion 56° 25´ 60° 28´ Longitude of ascending node. 231 28 231 26 Inclination 17 44 17 18 Perihelion distance 0·9873 0·9765 Eccentricity 0·9046 0·9054 Semi-axis major 10·3400 10·3240 Period, in years 33·2500 33·1760 Motion Retrograde. Retrograde. It seems very improbable that these coincidences should be accidental. Leverrier and other astronomers have found elements of the meteoric orbit agreeing closely with those given by Schiaparelli. Should the identity of the orbits be fully confirmed, it will follow that the comet of 1866 _is a very large meteor_ of the November stream. The researches of Professor C. Bruhns, of Leipzig, in regard to this group of meteors afford a probable explanation of the division of Biela's comet--a phenomenon which has greatly perplexed astronomers for the last twenty years. Adopting the period of 33-1/4 years, Professor Bruhns finds that the comet passed extremely near, and probably _through_ the meteoric ring near the last of December, 1845. It is easy to perceive that such a collision might produce the separation soon afterward observed. As the comet of Biela makes three revolutions in twenty years, it was again at this intersection, or approximate intersection of orbits about the end of 1865. But although the comet's position, with respect to the earth, was the same as in 1845-6, and although astronomers watched eagerly for its appearance, their search was unsuccessful. In short, _the comet is lost_. The denser portion of the meteoric stream was then approaching its perihelion. A portion of the arc had even passed that point, as a meteoric shower was observed at Greenwich on the 13th of November, 1865.[7] The motion of the meteoric stream is retrograde; that of the comet, direct. Did the latter plunge into the former, and was its non appearance the result of such collision and entanglement? [Illustration: Fig. 3. _Probable Orbit of the November Meteors._] CHAPTER II. OTHER METEORIC RINGS. II. The Meteors of August 6th-11th.