Rensselaer Union, Volume 1, Number 9, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 November 1868 — News and Miscellany. [ARTICLE]

News and Miscellany.

■ METEORIC SHOWERS, ! Meteors Mill meteoric showers are ver J ancient phenomenon. There are recordp of- them tuuanH thf Chiltokc nearly 700 yearn betiiru our »rM . Erpm Rlat turn, to the year 333 A. D. the astronomers of thfe sumo people record tho fall of 16 niroliteh or fallwi stones precipitated by the .explo>sion rtf meteoric or e.osmicil- hodiriy Thii Greeks and Romans, during tho same period, count but four such masses, while wh UMtfcnMWW’ Ix’coptq jqujtjTjMniliar. with them; if not in the shape of (eioliles; than assuredly in that of meteoru. aa the falling sfiouvrs n£..18C6, and now of November, 1808, abundantly prove. It is more than probable that these IshmaeL ites of the celestial wilderness are fragimunta of ol<l-w<nl<lH, with -which; tnovfni in irregular-:orbits, the intenvl/iffotary ftl >d interstellar spaces are ctowded; and that approaching-the esrth, .or nnv planet of powerful gravitntiiwi, they arc dwhtrbed in their career, nml fall into tho attracting, body which generates witliin them mtrrrifc and almost molteti Iteat. Thlir'iF PrtJf. > Nleh6!s's tfietfry of these cosmical bodies, when they descend ns aerolites; aud Laplace thought that they belonged to the moon, aud were projected from her .-volcanoes with such violence aS to bring them within the sphere of the earth’s attraction. Thcreare ietjs of thousands of these luminaries, however, which dq not full to the earth, but appear and disappear in the heavens with an inconceivable velocity in it perfect atorm of-light and color. It is very curious, howeyer, to consider that the component parts of such bodies, while they present no new elements, contain a large number of terreno ineUtls in singular combi nation, the chief of'triiich is iron, varying from 85ToHil per cent, of their entire weight. Aijckcl, eobalt, copper, phosphorous, silica, aliimino; zinc, chlorine, are likewise constituents of these bodies, and a late investigsttw lras discnveretl lead also among them. Shwitmg stars are not at all uncommon during any Hue boreal night -Rut the grand display as of some mighty review, which appeared in the henveus on the night of Friday and the morning of Saturday last, in n rare- occasion at ftiee stfanoA . .xtartling, nml sublime." DuHng”tlie same ■ manth of the two previous years we had similar exhibitions it is true, but upop a fftalo of less vastness and luugniiiccnilW, Indeed, since Afbuiral Krusenstern’s “fire ball” as described in llis “Voyage,” and the tremendous meteor of 1676, which appeared in Gesmany and passed oyer Italy from tho dlrA tioni of Biumalto. disappearing tawaril Corsica, aud exploding in m ain of fiery stones, and mighty fragments like .tho ruins of a demolished world, in the sea near Leghorn, it is not improbable that few meteors have been seen so large, brilliant and enduring as that which burst from the hem tus in tho northeast on Saturday morning at about one o’clock. is .-.oiui-tlniic co mvsti'rions ami solemn in the appearance of these heavenly heralds, and their lieanty is so strange and startling, that they carry tho mind of tho ordi, nary observer captive, and prevent himfor the most part, from ttikirr such pote of their showings as wopkl hp usefm to soionoo. M e had the pleasure c,' seeing the radiant meteor wo speak of from the commencement of its appearanco toils final vanishment. weiiai<l,*ft bi.dit from tlte northeastern heavens in the form of a . sphere; and of the apparent sire of the moon, if not larger. A mighty globe of golden fire, it tore through the blue immensity with a speed that would have been appalling, if, in describing its course, it had not left a dazzling and most beautiful track of light, which became more and more intense, up to a certain point, as it proceeded, and finally burst into balls of crimson, purple, green and amber. For such an evanescent body, its light and -color lasted for a notable length of time aud even when the blue void hud swallowed up its glory, there lay behind it a bright, dense, silver smolte all along tho line of its transit. We watched thia wonderful trail for more than half an hour. -At first it seemed immovable; then it aksnmed thofonn of some vast apocalyptical serpent, anti lay prone over half the starry .region, in whoSe profound recesses the meteor itself had disappeared. Slowly it shifted its position, and described an undulating lino •of great bounty, which v.’ns heightened by tho starlight that shone through its dim, white aud misty folds. In the course of a quarter of an hour it had agonized into a perfect figure. of eight, and finally it assumed a welldefined letter S, which it retained for ten minutes longer, and then, gathering its outlines together, it crushed them into a formless mass,.and. in forty minutes had vanished from tho field of vision. But, while this splendid symbolism and its transformations were going on, all the wombs of that fiStyeps whetmo they proceeded were giving birin—in cries' which were the most brilliant colors—to many more of these beautiful objects.

"Within whose sunny veins Tho blood was tunning bright." And look when we would and where we would in tho right direction, they flashed before us like the couriers of some mysterious sublime army. On they came from the deserts of Leo awj the regions of Taurus and Gemini, flying toward the southeast, and vanishing in those immensities; while others ex ploded overbend, crossing each other iu)d describing grand arches of liglit, qntil at limes the zenith looked as if rainbows hud burst over it. The display began as early ns 9 o'clock,aud bet weeu 1 and fi the'next morning was tho greatest period of their processions and flying glories. The general appeared to be at an angle of about 15 degrees above tho horizon. gradually rising toward the zenith, until al dawn it was nearly overhead. Wo witnessed the moveiuente of at least thirty meteors in tlio space of rather more than half an hour. There wasa bright northern light like n wall of nebiihe against the horizon, and about a quarter past 12 a glo-riously-colored, meteor sped along its Rights in a .line duo south; about 10 deg., perhaps not quite so much, above tho horizon. Those who beheld this wondrous astronomical show from au eminence, describe it as glorious beyond word* Ao picture it; as rs the gods had turned out on a holiday, and were .unusing themselves with, u vest ami gigantic scheme of pyrotechnics. Of course the Beene, being upon so extensive a plqtfcirtn, wns beheld aft over the States, and at Boston 3.s(H)'.meteors were counted between 2 and 5 o’clock.—A*. K. Sun,