When it was noted that the same date, November 13th, had been
distinguished by star-showers in 1831 and 1832, and that the great
shower observed by Humboldt in 1799 was on this day, the phenomenon was
traced back and found to present itself about every thirty-three years,
the tendency being to a little delay on each return; so that Professor
Newton and others have found it possible with this clew to discover
in early Arabic and other mediæval chronicles, and in later writers,
descriptions which, fitted together, make a tolerably continuous record
of this thirty-three-year shower, beginning with that of King Ibrahim
already alluded to. The shower appeared again in November, 1867 and
1868, with less display, but with sufficient brilliance to make the
writer well remember the watch through the night, and the count of the
flying stars, his most lively recollection being of their occasional
colors, which in exceptional cases ranged from full crimson to a vivid
green. The count on this night was very great, but the number which
enter the earth’s atmosphere even ordinarily is most surprising; for,
though any single observer may note only a few in his own horizon,
yet, taking the world over, at least ten millions appear every night,
and on these special occasions very many more. This November shower
comes always from a particular quarter of the sky, that occupied by the
constellation Leo, but there are others, such as that of August 10th
(which is annual), in which the “stars” seem to be shot at us from the
constellation Perseus; and each of the numerous groups of star-showers
is now known by the name of the constellation whence it seems to come,
so that we have _Perseids_ on August 10th, _Geminids_ on December 12th,
_Lyrids_, April 20th, and so on.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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