The Star Shower in the Mediterranean.
By William B. Herron
In our article on the great Star Shower in Europe (in the Review of Dec. 25), it was intimated that further accounts from the continent would probably tell of grander displays of celestial fireworks in Southern and Eastern Europe on the 14th of November than those seen in the north. The last arrival of London papers contain descriptions of the shower as witnessed in the Mediterranean, which seem to confirm that expectation. We give these descriptions below, prefacing them with a few additional statements as to the grandeur of the display in Great Britain. A scientific observer on the sea coast states in the London Times, that the meteoric discharges emanating from Leo, as seen from his point of observation between 1 : 15 and 2 : 30, were at the rate of “at least three in every second of time, or 13,500 in one hour and a quarter,” which corresponds very nearly with the estimate of Prof. Grant of Glasgow; while many observers in other places assert that, from their points of observation, they were too numerous to be counted. Says a correspondent of a New York paper, writing from London,—“As soon as the clock struck twelve, the first avant courier appeared to herald the approach of the fiery host, following closely behind. One by one, at first, the meteor train commenced; then multiplied and multiplied, until at last the whole expanse of air and sky seemed burning with the blaze of meteoric stones. It was truly a glorious sight.” “It would be impossible,” says a writer in the London Times, “to exaggerate the grandeur of the heavens between one and three o’clock. It appeared to be as if thousands of rockets were being discharged in every part.” Herschell, the astronomer, calls it a “splendid shower of meteors, most beautiful to behold, if not almost too wonderful and too surprising to describe.” But to the accounts from the Mediterranean: An observer in Malta, writing to the London Times, gives “a few particulars of this truly wonderful phenomenon,” which he denominates a “prodigious shower of meteors,” as it appeared in the Mediterranean, on the 14th of November, “according to the calculations and prognostications of astronomers.” We quote as follows:— “About midnight they began to fall in great numbers. From half-past one till after two, when the shower was at its maximum, there was scarcely a part of the visible heavens that was not brilliantly illuminated by the beautiful fiery shower.” “The scene was then truly grand and imposing. Fireballs and shooting stars darted from east to west across the sky with immense velocity, describing large arcs, and leaving in their paths splendid luminous trains or bands (nearly white, and sometimes of red and blue), which remained visible for a considerable time. “The night was extremely calm and clear, so that the glancing balls and fiery bands were beautifully and vividly displayed against the clear, dark blue sky. The shower continued from midnight till 3 A. M., and during that time many thousands of meteors must have fallen within the range of our vision. Many of them were of startling size and brightness. “The scene was one of the most sublime that I ever beheld. In fact, it was far beyond anything I ever expected to see, and it would be presumptuous in me to attempt a description. We could only continue to gaze in delighted wonder, and utter exclamations of surprise and admiration. I am quite sure that no person who witnessed the strange phenomenon will ever cease to remember it with feelings of astonishment and pleasure.” The following account from another observer in Malta appears in the same paper:— “At 2 A. M., on the 14th inst., I was called by my brother officers to see the shooting stars. On reaching the roof of the house, the spectacle presented by the heavens was certainly most remarkable. Flashes of light appeared to traverse the firmament in various directions and in such rapid succession that they seemed quite innumerable. No two crossed each other or moved in opposite directions. All seemed to emanate from the same region—in Leo; from this centre they appeared to diverge (and pass off in different points of the compass.) They were not confined to any limited area of the firmament, but appeared in all directions, from the zenith to the horizon. It continued about four hours, commencing at 1 A. M., and lasting until 5 o’clock, but the greatest maximum occurred between two and three o’clock. “Our lowest computation of their number was 200 per minute, but in all probability they were passing at the rate of 500 or 600 a minute (30,000 to 40,000 an hour). It was quite impossible to count them. As three or four observers expressed themselves,—“It was like a shower of hail.” An old soldier of twenty years’ service stated that he had never before witnessed so strange a sight.” This is the fourth grand shower of stars which has58fallen “like showers of hail in a hail-storm,” since the darkening of the sun in 1780. The first was seen in America in 1799, the second in Europe and Asia in 1832, the third and grandest in America in 1833, and the fourth in Europe the present year, 1866. It is a singular fact that these all occurred on the nights of the 12th, 13th, and 14th of November. The period between these grand displays appears to be thirty-four years and one day. The first in Europe was in 1832, Nov. 13th, and the next in 1866, Nov. 14,—thirty-four years and one day apart. Those in America were on the 12th of November, 1799, and 13th of November, 1833,—thirty-four years and one day apart. There is therefore, it appears to me, good reason to expect another display in America at the expiration of another thirty-four years,—that is on the night and morning of the 13th–14th of November, 1867. This will doubtless be the grandest and most startling of them all, and the last the world will ever see before the Lord comes.