"And long let me remember
That the palest fainting one
May to diviner vision be
A bright and blazing sun."
THOMAS BUCHANAN READ.
VII.
SHOOTING-STARS, METEORS, AND COMETS.
"The Lord cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died."—Joshua x. II.
A SWARM OF METEORS MEETING THE EARTH.
Their orbits are all parallel. Those coming in direct line to the eye appear as stars, having no motion. Those on one side of this line are seen in foreshortened perspective. Those furthest from the centre, other things being equal, appear longest. The centre, called the radiant point, of these November meteors is situated in Leo; that of the August meteors in Perseus. Over fifty such radiant points have been discovered. Over 30,000 meteors have been visible in an hour.