Abstract
PONS-WlNNECKE'S COMET AND THE METEORIC SHOWER OF JUNE 28.—Mr. Denning writes:—“That the remarkable display of June 28 was due to the earth passing through or very near a cometary orbit appears highly probable. The elements of the meteoric shower present some resemblances to those of Pons-Winnecke's comet of 1819, which has a period of about 5–8 years, and last reached perihelion on September 1, 1915. Any meteoric shower connected with Pons-Winnecke's comet, though not visible in past years, may well be perceptible in future times. In 1869 the perihelion distance was 0.7815, or about 21½ millions of miles inside the earth's orbit, but in 1915 the P.D. had increased to 0.9725, or only 4 millions of miles inside our orbit. Planetary perturbations have effected changes in the orbital elements of the comet, and brought it so near to us at one section that a meteoric rencontre seems very likely.”
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Our Astronomical Coloumn . Nature 97, 451 (1916). https://doi.org/10.1038/097451a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/097451a0