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(meteorobs) 1886 shower
Further to my letter concerning the 1886 shower, the Catalogue
of Cometary Orbits by Marsden and Williams, shows that the last
apparition of comet Biela was in 1852, when two nuclei were seen.
The period at that apparition was 6.62 years, and the perihelion
passage was on 1852.73. If you add a few returns, the comet should have
been back to perihelion on 1885.83, while the observed storm was on
1886.88, that is almost exactly a year later.
These are excellent conditions for a meteor storm, the comet
having been at perihelion of 0.86 AU one year before.
With this information the case for the Bielids in 1886 is
much more probable than any other.
Ignacio
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Ignacio Ferrin, + ferrin@ciens.ula.ve
Center for Theoretical Astrophysics, + FAX: 58 - 74 - 401286
Faculty of Sciences, + Phone: 58 - 74 - 401331
University of the Andes, + Mailing address: Apartado 700
Merida, VENEZUELA. + Merida 5101-A
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Quote of the Day:"In matters of science, the opinion of a 1000 men
is not worth more than the opinion of one single man".
Galileo Galilei
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