Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 1.djvu/405

Rh very unequally distributed, is retrograde, or contrary to that of the earth. The inclination of this orbit to that of the earth is only 17° 44'; its major axis is about 10⅛ times greater than the diameter of the earth's orbit, and the period of revolution for the densest part of the meteorites round the sun S is 33 years 3 months.



From all we have now learned concerning the nature and constitution of comets, nebulae, cosmical clouds, and meteoric swarms, an unmistakable resemblance will be remarked among these different forms in space. The affinity between comets and meteors had been already recognized by Chladni, but Schiaparelli, of Milan, was the first to take account of all the phenomena exhibited by these mysterious heavenly bodies, and with wonderful acuteness to treat successfully the mass of observations and calculations which had been contributed during the course of the last few years by Oppolzer, Peters, Bruhns, Heis, Le