heory of vortices.

We will first confine our remarks to the increased number of meteors
about November 12th and 14th. The cosmical matter composing the zodial
light, or at least the lighter parts of it, is continually driven
outwards by the radial stream, just as the matter of a comet's tail is
stripped from the nucleus. This matter becomes involved in the terral
vortex by descending the poles, and is again passed out along the
equatorial plane. The form of the zodial light, as seen edgewise, gives
a lenticular form for the stratum of planetary particles composing it,
and its central plane has been considered as coinciding with the plane
of the sun's equator. At the orbit of the earth, this lenticular space
is narrowed to a very thin stratum, but undoubtedly reaches beyond the
earth's orbit with a rapidly diminishing density. As the axis of the sun
is inclined about 7d to the ecliptic, and the ascending node is in the
20th degree of Gemini, the earth can only pass through the plane of the
sun's equator about the 12th of December and the 12th of June. If,
therefore, the central plane of the vortex coincides with the plane of
the sun's equator, meteors ought to be more numerous about the dates
above mentioned. But the observed times are on November 12th and 13th.
Now, from actual measurements, a computation has been made by M.
Houzeau, that the elements of the zodial light are materially different
from those of the sun's equator. He fixes the node of the light
(according to Mr. Hind) in 2d heliocentric longitude, subject to an
uncertainty of 12d or 13d, and its inclination to the plane of the
ecliptic, 3d 35', subject to an uncertainty of about 2d. The truth is,
astronomers have argued the coincidence of the two planes from
considerations connecting the zodial light with the sun's equator, as if
it were a solar atmosphere; but such an atmosphere is impossible, and it
is high time such measures should be taken as will lead to some certain
conclusion. If in the present state of the question, we were to take the
mean, we should find the node in about longitude 40d, which is the
position of the earth on November 2d. But in the absence of
measurements, we will assume, for the sake of argument, that the
ascending node of the central plane of the vortex was, in 1833, in 50d
heliocentric longitude, and consequently the earth was passing through
the meteoric stratum or central plane of the zodial light, on the night
of November 1