of Shooting Stars. 



271 



the numerous appearances of these meteors, which, infinitely nearer 

 to us, streak every night the surface of heaven, and are sometimes 

 seen in such numbers that the heavenly vault would appear to re- 

 solve itself into a shower of stars. 



Let us not, however, be in haste to suppose that nothing has been 

 done upon this subject. We might almost be tempted to admit that 

 the sciences also experience the influence and caprice of fashion, 

 and that a certain class of researches can only interest at a certain 

 epoch and under certain circumstances. Shooting stars, which had 

 never been the object of an investigation expressly undertaken, were 

 examined for the first time in a serious manner in 1798, by Benzen- 

 berg and Brandes, who examined them during many nights and at 

 many intervals, with a view to determine their mean height, their 

 velocity, and what belonged to the nature of their trajectory. In 

 1823, Brandes, seconded by a tolerable number of observers placed 

 in different stations, resumed the same work. At nearly the same 

 time (1824), I undertook, with the aid of from twelve to fifteen 

 persons, similar observations, which were made at Brussels, Ghent, 

 and Liege. I know not whether other regular observations of 

 the same nature have been made since. Only, at my request, 

 seconded by Sir John Herschel, the English scientific men assembled 

 at Cambridge in 1834, thought proper to propose this subject of 

 inquiry in the list of objects worthy to engage the attention of ob- 

 servers. The Royal Academy of Brussels has just come to a similar 

 resolution. 



Now, combining the results of the observations made in Germany 

 and in Belgium, the following are the principal conclusions which 

 may be deduced from them. 



1. The height at which shooting stars appear varies within very 

 wide limits j nevertheless the mean height may be considered as 

 being from 15 to 20 leagues of about 20 to a degree, that is to say, 

 near about the limits of our atmosphere. The two series of obser- 

 vations made in Germany gave : 



SHOOTING STARS. 



2. Shooting stars have in general a direction inclined towards the 

 surface of the earth. Of 36 computed trajectories, Brand6s found 

 26 descending ones, 9 ascending, and 1 horizontal; 13 formed an 



