“Comets and Aerolites,” from Reynolds’s Series of Astronomical Diagrams, by James Reynolds, 1847. An aerolite is a meteorite, specifically, a stony meteorite consisting of silicate materials.
The falling stars you see in a meteor shower are from the “dust trail” left by comets as they circle through the solar system.
Image from Stephen Ellcock’s FB page “The Celestial Archives: Pre-Space Age Images of the Heavens.”
“Comets.” One of nine wall hangings, all on astronomical themes, that were among many produced by the Working Men’s Educational Union in the 1850s. They were printed lithographically on cotton, probably to avoid paper duty. The hangings would have been used in lectures, held at various locations, to illustrate the latest advances in knowledge.
From Stephen Ellcock’s FB page “The Celestial Archive: Pre-Space Age Images of the Heavens.”