These responses helped him make a series of scientific breakthroughs, the major discovery being that meteor showers are seen nationwide, and fall from space under the influence of gravity. Also, they demonstrated that the showers appeared in yearly cycles, a fact that often eluded scientists. The responses allowed him to suggest a velocity for the meteors, although his estimate turned out to be too conservative. If he had just taken the responses as presented, his conjecture on the meteors' velocity would have been closer to their actual speed.