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CHAPTER XIII.

THE RELATION OF COMETS TO METEORS.

Association of Comets and Meteors.—Facts connected with Meteors necessary to be borne in mind.—Summary statement of these.—Meteor Showers of 1799 and 1832.—Shower of 1866.—Evident periodicity.—Researches of Quetelet and H. A. Newton.—Investigations by J. C. Adams.—Schiaparelli and the August Meteors.—Orbits of certain Meteor Swarms identical with the Orbits of certain Comets.—Four such cases of identity recognised.—The August, or Perseid, Meteors.—The Nov. 12, or Leonid, Meteors.—The April, or Lyrid, Meteors.—The Nov. 27, or Andromedes, Meteors.—The disappearance of Biela's Comet.—The certainty of the connection of the Andromedes Meteors with that Comet.—Recent investigations as to that Comet.—Review of the whole subject.

Not the least interesting of the modern developements of Cometary Astronomy is the discovery that in certain cases a relation exists between comets and meteors. Time was, not so very long ago, when comets were considered (and rightly) matters of pure Astronomy, whilst meteors of all kinds, the so-called "shooting stars" included, were looked upon as belonging to the domain of terrestrial Meteorology. How the association came to be known needs to be told in a book dealing with the matter from the astronomical side, but, as I desire to avoid going more deeply into the subject of meteors than is absolutely necessary, I must ask the reader to take on trust a few facts baldly stated, referring him to other works for details.

The facts contemplated in the foregoing remark are the following: (1) shooting stars may be seen on almost every night of the year in some part of the heavens; (2) they are more numerous at certain seasons of the year than at others; (3) whilst odd ones may often be noticed anywhere, so to