Both of these planets, in consequence of passing alternately between the sun and the earth and round the opposite side of the sun, present phases resembling those of the moon. The reader can explain these to himself by means of the experiment, before mentioned, with a billiard ball and a lamp. In this case let the observer remain seated in his chair while another person carries the ball round the lamp in such a manner that it shall alternately pass between the lamp and the observer and round the other side of the lamp. When Venus comes nearly in line between the earth and the sun, she becomes an exceedingly brilliant object in either the evening or the morning sky, although at such times we see, in the form of a crescent, only a part of that half of her surface which is illuminated. Her increase of brightness at such times is due to her greater nearness to the earth. When between the earth and the sun she may be only about 26,000,000 miles away, while when she is on the other side of the sun she may be over 160,000,000 miles away. Both Venus and Mercury when passing exactly between the sun and the earth are seen, in the form of small black circles, moving slowly across the sun's disk. These occurrences are called transits, and in the case of Venus have been before referred to. They are more frequent with Mercury than with Venus, but Mercury's transits are not utilisable for parallax observations. The latest transit of Venus occurred in 1882, and there will not be another until 2004. The latest transit of Mercury occurred in 1907, and there will be another in 1914.

The earth is the third planet in order of distance, and then comes Mars, whose average distance from the sun is 141,500,000 miles. The orbit of Mars is so eccentric that the distance varies between 148,000,000 and 135,000,000 miles. Its period or year is about 687 of our days. In consequence of its distance, Mars gets, on the average, a little less than half as much light and heat as the earth gets. When it is on the same side of the sun with the earth, and nearly in line with them, it is said to be in opposition. At such times it is manifestly as near the earth as it can come, and thus an opposition of Mars offers a good opportunity for the telescopic study of its surface. These oppositions occur once in about 780 days, but they are not all of equal importance, because the distance between the two planets is not the same at different oppositions. The cause of the difference of distance is the eccentricity of the orbit. If an opposition occurs when Mars is in aphelion its distance from the earth will be about 61,000,000 miles, but if the opposition occurs when Mars is in perihelion the distance will be only about 35,000,000 miles. The average distance at an opposition is about 48,500,000 miles. The most favourable oppositions always occur in August or September, and are repeated at an interval of from fifteen to seventeen years. But at some of the intervening oppositions the distance of the planet is not too great to afford good views of its surface. The diameter of Mars is about 4330 miles, with a similar polar flattening to that of the earth. Its density is 0.71 that of the earth, and the force of gravity on its surface 0.38. A body weighing 100 pounds on the earth would weigh 38 pounds on Mars. The evidence in regard to its atmosphere is conflicting, but the probability is that it has an atmosphere not denser than that existing on our highest mountain peaks. Opinions concerning the existence of water vapour on Mars are also conflicting. One fact tending to show that its atmosphere must be very rare and cloudless is that its surface features are very plainly discernible with telescopes.

About each pole, as it happens to be turned earthward, is to be seen a round white patch (supposed to be snow), and this gradually disappears as the summer advances in that hemisphere of the planet—for Mars has seasons very closely resembling our seasons, except that they are about twice as long. The inclination of the axis of Mars to the plane of its orbit is about 24° 50′, which is not very different from the inclination of the earth's axis. Moreover, Mars rotates in a period of 24 hours, 37 min., 22 sec., so that the length of day and night upon its surface is very nearly the same as upon the earth. The surface of the planet is marked by broad irregular areas of contrasting colour, or tone, some of them being of a slightly reddish, or yellowish, hue, and others of a neutral dusky tint. The general resemblance to a globe of the earth, with differently shaped seas and oceans, is striking.

On account of the many likenesses between Mars and the earth, some astronomers are disposed to think that Mars may be a habitable planet. The terms “seas” and “continents” were formerly applied to the contrasted areas just spoken of, but now it is believed that there are no large bodies of water on Mars. Crossing the light, or reddish-coloured, areas there are sometimes seen great numbers of intersecting lines, very narrow and faint, which have received the name of “canals.” Some speculative minds find in these ground for believing that they are of artificial origin, and a theory has been built up, according to which the so-called canals are “irrigated bands,” the result of the labours of the inhabitants. The argument of the advocates of this theory is put about as follows: Mars is evidently a nearly dried-up planet, and most of the water left upon it is periodically locked up in the polar snows. As these snows melt away in the summer time, now in one hemisphere and now in the other, the water thus formed is conducted off toward the tropical and equatorial zones by innumerable canals, too small to be seen from the earth. The lands irrigated by these canals are narrow strips, whose situation is determined by local circumstances, and which cross one another in all directions. Within these bands, which enlarge into rounded “oases” where many of them intersect, vegetation pushes, and its colour causes them to appear as dark lines and patches on the surface of the planet. The fact that the lines make their appearance gradually, after the polar caps begin to disappear, is regarded as strongly corroborative of the theory. In answer to the objection that works so extensive as this theory of irrigation calls for would be practically impossible, it is replied that the relatively small force of gravity on Mars not only immensely diminishes the weight of all bodies there, but also renders it possible for animal forms to attain a greater size, with corresponding increase of muscular power. It is likewise argued that Mars may have been longer inhabited than the earth, and that its inhabitants may consequently have developed a more complete mastery over the powers of nature than we as yet possess. Many astronomers reject these speculations, and even aver that the lines called “canals” (and it must be admitted that many powerful telescopes show few or none of them) have no real existence, what is seen, or imagined to be seen, being due to some peculiarity of the soil, rocks, or atmosphere.

Mars has two small satellites, revolving round it with great speed at close quarters. The more distant satellite, Deimos, is 14,600 miles from the centre of Mars and goes round it in 30 hours, 18 min. The nearer one, Phobos, is only 5800 miles from the planet's centre, and its period of revolution is only 7 hours, 39 min., so that it makes more than three circuits while the planet is rotating once on its axis. Both of the satellites are minute in size, probably under ten miles in diameter.

Beyond Mars, at an average distance of about 246,000,000 miles from the sun, is a system of little planets called asteroids. More than 600 are now known, and new ones are discovered every year, principally by means of photography. Only four of these bodies are of any considerable size, and they were, naturally, the first to be discovered. They are Ceres, diameter 477 miles; Pallas, 304 miles; Vesta, 239 miles; and Juno, 120 miles. Many of the others have a diameter of only about ten, or even, perhaps, as little as five, miles. Their orbits are more eccentric than those of any of the large planets, and one of them, Eros, has a mean distance of 135,000,000 miles, and a least distance of only 105,000,000, so that it is nearer to the sun than Mars is. Eros may, under favourable circumstances, approach within 14,000,000 miles of the earth. This fact, as already mentioned, has been taken advantage of for measuring its distance from the earth, from which the distance of the sun may be calculated with increased accuracy. Eros and some others of the asteroids seem to be of an irregular or fragmentary form, and this has been used to support a theory, which is not, however, generally accepted, that the asteroids are the result of an explosion, by which a larger planet was blown to pieces.

Sixth in order of distance from the sun (counting the asteroids as representing a single body) is the greatest of all the planets, Jupiter. His average distance from the sun is 483,000,000 miles, but the eccentricity of his orbit causes him to approach within 472,500,000 miles at perihelion, and to recede to 493,500,000 miles at aphelion. When in opposition, Jupiter's mean distance from the earth is 390,000,000 miles. This gigantic planet has a mean diameter of 87,380 miles, but is so flattened at the poles and bulged round the equator that the polar diameter is only 84,570 miles, while the equatorial diameter is 90,190 miles, a difference of 5680 miles. This peculiar form is doubtless due to the planet's swift rotation. The axis, like that of Venus, is nearly perpendicular to the plane of the orbit. He makes a complete turn on his axis in a mean period of 9 hours, 55 minutes. The reason for saying “a mean period” will appear in a moment. Jupiter's year is equal to 11.86 of our years, but it comes into opposition to the sun, as seen from the earth, once in every 399 days.

The volume of Jupiter is about 1300 times that of the earth, i.e. it would take 1300 earths rolled into one to equal Jupiter in size. But its mean density is slightly less than one quarter of the earth's, so that its mass is only 316 times greater than the earth's. The force of gravity on its surface is 2.64 times the earth's. A body weighing 100 pounds on the earth would weigh 264 pounds on Jupiter. It will be observed that Jupiter's mean density is very nearly the same as that of the sun, and we conclude that it cannot be a solid, rigid globe like the earth. This conclusion is made certain by the fact that its period of rotation on its axis is variable, another resemblance to the sun. The equatorial parts go round in a shorter period than parts situated some distance north or south of the equator. It may be supposed that there is a solid nucleus within, but if so, no direct evidence of its existence has been found.

Nevertheless, although Jupiter appears to be in a cloud-like state, it does not shine with light of its own, so that its temperature, while no doubt higher than that of the earth, cannot approach anywhere near that of the sun. We do not know of what materials Jupiter is composed, for spectroscopic analysis applies especially to bodies which shine with their own light. When they shine only by reflected light received from the sun, their spectra resemble the regular solar spectrum, except for the presence of faint bands due to absorption in the planet's atmosphere. It may be that there are no elements of great atomic density, such as iron or lead, in the globe of Jupiter. Yet in the course of long ages the planet may become smaller and more condensed, in consequence of the escape of its internal heat. In this way Jupiter may be regarded as representing an intermediate stage of evolution between an altogether vaporous and very hot body like the sun, and a cool and solid one like the earth.

Jupiter presents a magnificent appearance in a good telescope. Its oblong disk is seen crossed in an east and west direction, and parallel to its equator, by broad, vari-coloured bands, called belts. These frequently change in form and, to some extent, in situation, as well as in number. But there are always at least two wide belts, one on each side of the equator. In 1878 a very remarkable feature was noticed just south of the principal south belt of Jupiter, which has become celebrated under the name of the Great Red Spot. In a few years after its discovery its colour faded, but it still remains visible, with varying degrees of distinctness, as an oblong marking, about 30,000 miles long and 7000 miles broad. The outer border of the great south belt bends away from the spot, as if some force of repulsion acted between them, or as if the spot were an elevation round which the clouds of the belt flowed like a river round a projecting headland. The nature of this curious spot is unknown. Other smaller spots, sometimes white, sometimes dusky, occasionally make their appearance, but they do not exhibit the durability of the Great Red Spot.

Jupiter has eight satellites, four of which, known since the time of Galileo, are conspicuous objects in the smallest telescope. All but one of these four are larger than our moon, while the other four are extremely insignificant in size. The four principal satellites are designated by Roman numerals, I, II, III, IV, arranged in the order of distance from the planet. They also have names which are seldom used. Satellite I (Io) has a diameter of 2452 miles, and revolves in a period of 1 day, 18 hours, 27 min., 35.5 sec., at a mean distance of 261,000 miles; II (Europa) is 2045 miles in diameter, and revolves in 3 days, 13 hours, 13 min., 42.1 sec., at a mean distance of 415,000 miles; III (Ganymede) has a diameter of 3558 miles, a period of seven days, 3 hours, 42 min., 33.4 sec., and a mean distance of 664,000 miles; IV (Callisto) is 3345 miles in diameter, has a period of 16 days, 16 hours, 32 min., 11.2 sec., and a mean distance of 1,167,000 miles. The object of giving the periods with extreme accuracy will appear when we speak of the use made of observations of Jupiter's satellites. The first of the four small satellites, discovered by Barnard in 1892, is probably less than 100 miles in diameter, and has a mean distance of 112,500 miles, and a period of only 11 hours, 57 min., 22.6 sec. The other small satellites are much more distant than any of the large ones, the latest to be discovered, the eighth, being situated at a mean distance of about 15,000,000 miles, but travelling in an orbit so eccentric that the distance ranges between 10,000,000 and 20,000,000 miles. The period is about two and a fifth years. But the most remarkable fact is that this satellite revolves round Jupiter from east to west, a direction contrary to that pursued by all the others, and contrary to the direction which is almost universal among the rotating and revolving bodies of the solar system.

The large satellites are very interesting objects for the telescope. When they come between the sun and Jupiter their round black shadows can be plainly seen moving across his disk, and when they pass round into his shadow they are suddenly eclipsed, emerging after a time out of the other side of the shadow. These phenomena are known as transits and eclipses, and their times of occurrence are carefully predicted in the American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac, published at Washington for the benefit of astronomers and navigators, because these eclipses can be employed in comparing local time with standard meridian time. They were formerly utilised to determine the velocity of light, in this way:

As the earth goes round its orbit inside that of Jupiter the latter is seen in opposition to the sun at intervals of 399 days. When it is thus seen the earth must be between the sun and Jupiter, and the distance between the two planets is the least possible. But when the earth has passed round to the other side of the sun from Jupiter this distance becomes the greatest possible. The increase of distance between the two planets, as the earth goes from the nearest to the farthest side of its orbit, is about 186,000,000 miles. Now it was noticed by the Danish astronomer, Roemer, that as the earth moved farther and farther from Jupiter the times of occurrence of the eclipses kept getting later and later, until when the earth arrived at its greatest distance the eclipses were about 16 minutes behind time. He correctly inferred that the retardation of the time was due to the increase of the distance, and that the 16 minutes by which the eclipses were behindhand when the distance was greatest represented the time taken by light to cross the 186,000,000 miles of space by which the earth had increased its distance from Jupiter. In other words, light must travel 186,000,000 miles in about sixteen minutes, from which it was easy to calculate its speed per second—which we now know to be 186,330 miles. Our knowledge of the velocity of light furnishes one of the means of calculating the distance of the sun.

We come next to the beautiful planet Saturn, whose mean distance from the sun is 886,000,000 miles. The distance varies between 911,000,000 and 861,000,000 miles. Saturn's year is equal to 29.46 of our years. It comes into opposition every 378 days. The most surprising feature of Saturn is the system of immense rings surrounding it above the equator. The globe of the planet is 76,470 miles in equatorial diameter, and 69,780 miles in polar diameter, a difference of 6690 miles, so that Saturn is even more compressed at the poles and swollen at the equator than Jupiter. The axis of rotation is inclined 27° from a perpendicular. The rings are three in number, very thin in proportion to their vast size, and placed one within another in the same plane. The outer diameter of the outer ring, called Ring A, is about 168,000 miles. Its breadth is about 10,000 miles. Then comes a gap, about 1600 miles across, separating it from Ring B, the brightest of the set. This is about 16,500 miles broad, and at its inner edge it gradually fades out, blending with Ring C, which is called the crape, or gauze, ring, because it has a dusky appearance, and is so translucent that the globe of the planet can be seen through it. This ring is about 10,000 miles broad, and its inner edge comes within a distance of between 9000 and 10,000 miles of the surface of the planet. Ring A apparently has a very narrow gap running round at about a third of its breadth from the outer edge. This, known as Encke's Division, is not equally plain at all times. Occasionally observers report the temporary appearance of other thin gaps.

The mean density of Saturn is less than that of any other planet, being but 0.13 that of the earth, or 0.72 that of water. It follows that this great planet would float in water. The weight of bodies at its surface would be a little less than three-quarters of their weight on the surface of the earth. The globe of Saturn, like that of Jupiter, is marked by belts parallel with the equator, but they are less definite in outline and less conspicuous than the belts of Jupiter. The equatorial zone often shows a beautiful pale salmon tint, while the regions round the poles are faintly bluish. Light spots are occasionally seen upon the planet, and it appears to rotate more rapidly at the equator than in the higher latitudes. There seems to be every reason to think that Saturn, also, is of a vaporous constitution, although it may have a relatively condensed nucleus.

But while the globe of the planet appears to be vaporous, the same is not true of the rings. We have already mentioned the fact that they are exceedingly thin in proportion to their great size and width. The thickness has not been determined with exactness, but it probably does not exceed, on the average, one hundred miles. There appear to be portions of the rings which are thicker than the average, as if the matter of which they are composed were heaped up there. This matter evidently consists of an innumerable multitude of small bodies. In other words, the rings are composed of swarms of what may be called meteors. That their composition must be of this nature, although the telescope does not reveal it, has been proved in two ways: first, by mathematical calculation, which shows that if the rings were all of a piece, whether solid or liquid, they would be destroyed by the contending forces of attraction to which they are subject; and, second, by spectroscopic observation, which proves, in a way that will be shown when we come to deal with the stars, that the rings rotate with velocities proportional to the distances of their various parts from the centre of the planet. Hence it is inferred that they must consist of a vast number of small bodies or particles.

Saturn has ten satellites, all revolving outside the rings. The names of nine of these in the order of increasing distance are: Mimas, distance 117,000 miles; Enceladus, distance 157,000 miles; Tethys, distance 186,000 miles; Dione, distance 238,000 miles; Rhea, distance 332,000 miles; Titan, distance 771,000 miles; Hyperion, distance 934,000 miles; Japetus, distance 2,225,000 miles; and Phœbe, distance 8,000,000 miles. The last, like the eighth satellite of Jupiter, revolves in a retrograde direction. Only Titan and Japetus are conspicuous objects. The period of Mimas is only about 22½ hours; that of Titan is 15 days, 22 hours, 41 min., and that of Japetus about 79 days, 8 hours. Barnard's measurements indicate for Titan a diameter of 2720 miles. Japetus is probably about two-thirds as great in diameter as Titan.

Beyond Saturn, in the order named, are Uranus and Neptune. The mean distance of the former from the sun is 1,782,000,000 miles, and that of the latter 2,791,500,000 miles. The orbit of Uranus is more eccentric than that of Neptune. The diameter of Uranus is about 32,000 miles and that of Neptune about 35,000 miles. The year of Uranus is equal to 84 of our years, and that of Neptune to 164.78. These planets are so remote, and so poorly illuminated by the sun, that the telescope reveals very little detail on their surfaces. Their density is somewhat less than that of Jupiter. Uranus has four satellites, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon, situated at the respective distances of 120,000, 167,000, 273,000, and 365,000 miles. Neptune has one, nameless, satellite, at a distance of 225,000 miles.

The most remarkable thing about these two planets is that their axes of rotation, as compared with those of all the other planets, are tipped over into a different plane, so that they rotate in a retrograde or backward direction, and their satellites, in like manner, revolve from east to west. The axis of Uranus is not far from upright to the plane of the ecliptic, so that the motion of its satellites carries them alternately far northward and far southward of that plane, but the axis of Neptune is tipped so far over that the retrograde, or east to west, motion is very pronounced. Neptune is celebrated for having been discovered by means of mathematical calculations, based on its disturbing attraction on Uranus. These calculations showed where it ought to be at a certain time, and when telescopes were pointed at the indicated spot the planet was found. Similar disturbances of the motions of Neptune lead some astronomers to think that there is another, yet undiscovered, planet still more distant.

7. Comets. Comets are the most extraordinary in appearance of all celestial objects visible to the naked eye. Great comets have been regarded with terror and superstitious dread in all ages of the world, wherever ignorance of their nature has prevailed. They have been taken for prognosticators of wars, famines, plagues, the death of rulers, the outbreak of revolutions, and the subversion of empires. One reason for this, aside from their strange and menacing appearance, is, no doubt, the rarity of very great and conspicuous comets. It was not until Newton had demonstrated the law of gravitation that the fact began to be recognised that comets are controlled in their motions by the sun. We now know that they travel in orbits, frequently, and perhaps always, elliptical, having the sun in one of the foci. Comets are habitually divided into two classes: first, periodical comets, meaning those which have been observed at more than one return to perihelion; and, second, non-periodical comets, meaning those which have been seen but once, but which, nevertheless, may return to perihelion in a period so long that a second return has not been observed. A better division is into comets of short period, and comets of long, or unknown, periods.

Still, many astronomers are disposed to think that the majority of comets do not travel in elliptical but in parabolic, and a few in hyperbolic, orbits. This calls for a few words of explanation. Ellipses, parabolas, and hyperbolas are all conic-section curves, but the ellipse alone returns into itself, or forms a closed circuit. In each case the sun is situated at the focus where the perihelion, or nearest approach, of the comet occurs, but only comets travelling in elliptical orbits return again after having once been seen. A comet moving in a parabola would go back into the depths of space nearly in the direction from which it had come, and would never be seen again; and if it moved in a hyperbola it would go off toward another quarter of the celestial sphere, and likewise would never return. Now it is true that the forms calculated for the orbits of the majority of comets that have been observed appear to be parabolic (a very few seem to be hyperbolic), and if this is the fact such comets cannot be permanent members of the solar system, but must enter it from far-off regions of space, and having visited the sun must return to such regions without any tendency to come back again. In that case they may pay similar visits to other suns.

But it is quite possible that what appear to be parabolic orbits may, in reality, be ellipses of very great eccentricity. The difficulty in determining the precise shape of a comet's orbit arises from the fact that all three of the curves just mentioned closely approximate to one another in the neighbourhood of their common focus, the sun, and it is only in that part of their orbits that comets are visible. The whole question is yet in abeyance, but, as we have said, it seems likely that all comets really move in elliptical orbits, and consequently never get entirely beyond the control of the sun's attraction. But in all cases the orbits of comets are much more eccentric than those of the large planets. The famous comet of Halley, for instance, which has the longest period of any of the known periodical class, about seventy-five years, is 3,293,000,000 miles from the sun when in aphelion, and only 54,770,000 miles when in perihelion.

Comets, when near the sun, are greatly affected by the disturbing attraction of large planets, and especially of the most massive of them all, Jupiter. The effect of this disturbance is to change the form of their orbits, with the not infrequent result that the latter are altered from apparent parabolas into unquestionable ellipses, and thus the comets concerned are said to be “captured,” or made prisoners to the sun, by the influence of the disturbing planet. About twenty small comets are known as “Jupiter's Comet Family,” because they appear to have been “captured” in this way by him. A few others are believed to have been similarly captured by Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

The orbits of comets differ from those of the planets in other ways beside their greater eccentricity. The planets all move round the sun from west to east, but comets move in both directions. The orbits of the planets, with the exception of some of the asteroids, all lie near one common plane, but those of comets are inclined at all angles to this plane, some of them coming down from the north side of the ecliptic and others up from the south side.

A comet consists of two distinct portions: first, the head, or nucleus; and, second, the tail. The latter only makes its appearance when the comet is drawing near the sun, and, as a whole, it is always directed away from the sun, but usually more or less curved backward along the comet's course, as if the head tended to run away from it. The appearance of a comet's tail at once suggests that it is produced by some repulsive force emanating from the sun. Recently there has been a tendency to explain this on the principle of what is known as the pressure of light. This demands a brief explanation. Light is believed to be a disturbance of the universal ether in the form of waves which proceed from the luminous body. These waves possess a certain mechanical energy tending to drive away bodies upon which they impinge. The energy is relatively slight, and in ordinary circumstances produces no perceptible effect, but when the body acted upon by the light is extremely small the pressure may become so great relatively to gravitation as to prevail over the latter. To illustrate this, let us recall two facts—first, that gravitation acts upon the mass, i.e. all the particles of a body throughout its entire volume; and, second, that pressure acts only upon the exterior surface. Consequently gravitation is proportional to the volume, while the pressure of light is proportional to the surface of the body acted upon. Now the mass, or volume, of any body varies as the cube of its diameter, and the surface only as the square. If, then, we have two bodies, one of which has twice the diameter of the other, the mass of the second will be eight times less than that of the first, but the surface will be only four times less. If the second has only one-third the diameter of the first, then its mass will be twenty-seven times less, but its surface only nine times less. Thus we see that as we diminish the size of the body, the mass falls off more rapidly than the area of the surface, and consequently the pressure gains relatively to the gravitation. Experiment has corroborated the conclusions of mathematics on this subject, and has shown that when a particle of matter is only about one one-hundred-thousandth of an inch in diameter the pressure of light upon it becomes greater than the force of gravitation, and such a particle, situated in open space, would be driven away from the sun by the light waves. This critical size would vary with the density of the matter composing the particle, but what we have said will serve to convey an idea of its minuteness.

Now in applying this to comets' tails it is only necessary to remark that they are composed of either gaseous or dusty particles, or both, rising from the nucleus, probably under the influence of the heat or the electrical action of the sun, and these particles, being below the critical size, are driven away from the sun, and appear in the form of a tail following the comet. It may be added that the same principle has been evoked to explain the corona of the sun, which may be composed of clouds of gas or dust kept in suspension by the pressure of light.

The nuclei of comets contain nearly their whole mass. The actual mass of no comet is known, but it can in no case be very great. Moreover, it is probable that the nucleus of a comet does not consist of a single body, either solid or liquid, but is composed of a large number of separate small bodies, like a flock of meteors, crowded together and constantly impinging upon one another. As the comet approaches the sun the nucleus becomes violently agitated, and then the tail begins to make its appearance.

The possibility exists of an encounter between the earth and the head of a comet, but no such occurrence is known. Two or three times, however, the earth is believed to have gone through the tail of a comet, the last time in 1910, when Halley's comet passed between the earth and the sun, but no certain effects have been observed from such encounters. The spectroscope shows that comets contain various hydrocarbons, sodium, nitrogen, magnesium, and possibly iron, but we know, as yet, very little about their composition. The presence of cyanogen gas was reported in Halley's comet at its last appearance. We are still more ignorant of the origin of comets. We do know, however, that they tend to go to pieces, especially those which approach very close to the sun. The great comet of 1882, which almost grazed the sun, was afterward seen retreating into space scattered into several parts, each provided with a tail. In at least one case, several comets have been found travelling in the same track, an indication that one large original comet has been separated into three or four smaller ones. This appears to be true of the comets of 1843, 1880, and 1882,—and perhaps the comet of 1576 should be added. But the most remarkable case of disruption is that of Biela's Comet, which first divided into two parts in 1846 and then apparently became scattered into a swarm of meteors which was encountered by the earth in 1872, when it passed near the old track of the comet. This leads us to our next subject.

8. Meteors. Everybody must, at some time, have beheld the phenomenon known as a falling, or shooting, star. A few of these objects can be seen darting across the sky on almost any clear night in the course of an hour or two of watching. Sometimes they appear more numerously, and at intervals they are seen in “showers.” They are called meteors, and it is believed that they are minute solid bodies, perhaps averaging but a small fraction of an ounce in weight, which plunge into the atmosphere with velocities varying from twenty to thirty or more miles per second, and are set afire and consumed by the heat of friction developed by their rush through the air. Anybody who has seen a bullet melted by the heat suddenly developed when it strikes a steel target has had a graphic illustration of the transformation of motion into heat. But if we could make the bullet move fast enough it would melt in the air, the heat being developed by the constant friction.

The connection of meteors with comets is very interesting. In the year 1833, a magnificent and imposing display of meteors, which, for hours, on the night between the 13th and 14th of November, filled the sky with fire-balls and flaming streaks, astonished all beholders and filled many with terror. It was found that these meteors travelled in an orbit intersecting that of the earth at the point where the latter arrived in the middle of November, and also that they had a period of revolution about the sun of 33¼ years, and were so far scattered along their orbit that they required nearly three years to pass the point of intersection with the orbit of the earth. Thus it was concluded that for three years in succession, in mid-November, there should be a display of the meteors plunging into the earth's atmosphere. But only in the year when the thickest part of the swarm was encountered by the earth would the display be very imposing. Upon this it was predicted that there would be a recurrence of the phenomenon of 1833 in the year 1866. It happened as predicted, except that the number of meteors was not quite so great as before. In the meantime, it had been discovered that these meteors followed in the track of a comet known as Temple's Comet, and also that certain other meteors, which appear every year in considerable numbers about the 10th of August, followed the track of another comet called Tuttle's Comet. Then in 1872 came the display, mentioned in the last section, of meteors which were evidently the debris of the vanished comet of Biela. The inference from so many similar cases was irresistible that the meteors must be fragments of destroyed or partially destroyed comets. Several other cases of identity of orbits between meteors and comets have been discovered.

It has been said that the August meteors appear every year. The explanation of this is that they have, in the course of many ages, been scattered around the whole circuit of their orbit, so that each year, about the 10th of August, when the earth crosses their track, some of the meteors are encountered. They are like an endless railroad train travelling upon a circular track. The November meteors also appear, in small numbers, every year, a fact indicating that some of them, too, have been scattered all around their orbit, although the great mass of them is still concentrated in an elongated swarm, and a notable display can only occur when this swarm is at the crossing simultaneously with the earth. These meteors were eagerly awaited in 1899, when it was hoped that the splendid displays of 1833 and 1866 might be repeated, but, unfortunately, in the meantime the planets Jupiter and Saturn, by their disturbing attractions, had so altered the position of the path of the meteors in space that the principal swarm missed the connection. There are many other periodical meteor showers, generally less brilliant than those already mentioned, and some astronomers think that all of them had their origin from comets.

It is not known that any meteor from any of these swarms has ever reached the surface of the earth. The meteors appear to be so small that they are entirely burnt up before they can get through the atmosphere, which thus acts as a shield against these little missiles from outer space. But there is another class of meteoric bodies, variously known as meteorites, aërolites, uranoliths, or bolides, which consists of larger masses, and these sometimes fall upon the earth, after a fiery passage through the air. Specimens of them may be seen in many museums. They are divided into two principal classes, according to their composition: first, stony meteorites, which are by far the most numerous; and, second, iron meteorites, which consist of almost pure iron, generally alloyed with a little nickel. The stony meteorites, which usually contain some compound of iron, consist of a great variety of substances, including between twenty and thirty different chemical elements. Although they resemble in many ways minerals of volcanic origin on the earth, they also possess certain characteristics by which they can be recognised even when they have not been seen to fall.

When a meteorite passes through the air it makes a brilliant display of light, and frequently bursts asunder, with a tremendous noise, scattering its fragments about. The largest fragment of a meteorite actually seen to fall, weighs about a quarter of a ton. Upon striking the ground the meteorite sometimes penetrates to a depth of several feet, and some have been picked up which were yet hot on the surface, although very cold within. It is not known that meteorites have any connection with comets, and their origin can only be conjectured. Among the various suggestions that have been made the following may be mentioned: (1) that they have been shot out of the sun—particularly the iron meteorites; (2) that they were cast into space by lunar volcanoes when the moon was still subject to volcanic action; (3) that they are the products of explosion in the stars. But some astronomers are disposed to think that they originated in a similar manner to other members of the solar system, although it is difficult, on this hypothesis, to account for their great density. The opinion that the iron meteorites have come from the sun, or some other star, is enforced by the fact that they contain hydrogen, carbon, and helium, in forms suggesting that these gases were absorbed while the bodies were immersed in a hot, dense atmosphere.