Reno Evening Gazette in Reno, Nevada

The Origin of Meteors and Comets in Early Theory

The article discusses a historical view that shooting stars and meteors are offspring of disintegrated comets. It explains how meteors enter the atmosphere at high speeds, convert to vapor, or survive as larger bodies, and how observations of nuclei, tails, and cometary behavior led to theories of electrical repulsion and solar influence. It notes debates on the comet tail’s formation, the nucleus size, and minimal planetary impact, concluding that solid bodies near the center are unlikely and meteors arise from disintegrating comets.