Meteoric Observations. 121 



sa minor. After the continuance of about 50 minutes, the 

 red colour began to grow paler, and finally disappeared in 

 the moonlight, which occasionally penetrated through the 

 clouds : traces of it were, however, visible till nine in the e- 

 vening. The rays which usually accompany an aurora bore- 

 alts were not observable in this. From seven till eleven, the 

 sky was so covered with masses of feather-like clouds, which 

 came from the east, that no observation could be made. Af- 

 ter eleven, the clouds separated, and there were several points 

 on the equinoctial, which became visible, together with the 

 constellations Orion, Cants major, and C. minor : Castor and 

 Pollux, Cancer, Ursa major, U. minor, and Cassiopeia came 

 afterwards into view. No trace of the aurora, though the 

 sky continued clear in these places till two o'clock in the 

 morning, nor even a single falling star, was discovered, al- 

 though an attentive and thorough observation of the heavens, 

 on every side, was kept up. Under these circumstances, 

 then, nothing of much consequence can be said to have pre- 

 sented itself, on the night between the 12th and 13th of No- 

 vember, with the exception of the aurora borealis. On the 

 following night it was otherwise. Although the sky was, on 

 this night likewise, so overcast, that no observations could 

 successfully be made, from six to eleven, the clouds after- 

 wards dispersed, so as to leave the region of Orion, Canis 

 major, C. minor, Gemini, Cancer, Leo major, L. minor, Ur- 

 sa major, and Cassiopeia, serene, from four minutes before 

 twelve in the evening, until half past five in the morning, — 

 that is, for a duration of five hours and a half. In the course 

 of this time, twenty-six, for the greater part very considera- 

 ble, shooting stars were observed ; by far the greater number 

 of which became visible at determinate points of the equinoc- 

 tial and the ecliptic, and seemed to be there concentrated. — 

 But ten, most of them of considerable brightness, and with 

 luminous, rocket-like tails, appeared in the constellation of 

 Orion, and its immediate neighbourhood, from 20 minutes 

 past twelve to 23 minutes before three, a period of two hours 

 and seventeen minutes. Six, not less considerable, some im- 

 mediately in Leo major, others in the neighbouring constel- 

 lations of Cancer and Leo minor, were seen from 6 minutes 

 to one, to 5 minutes past three, — namely, during two hours 

 and thirteen minutes. Four were visible in Gemini, from 14 

 minutes past one till 6 minutes to three, — viz. one hour and 

 forty minutes. Of the remaining six, three appeared in Ur- 

 sa major, one in Cassiopeia, one in Triangulum, and one in 

 Pisces, during a period of two hours and forty-two minutes. 

 It is worthy of remark that the falling stars, with only two 



