1 78 Prof. Wartmann on two Extraordinary Meteors. 



stant (in reality it diminished with the height, but the decrea* 

 sing clearness in the atmosphere compensated this diminution 

 of visibility) up to an elevation of about 25° above the horizon ; 

 still higher the red tint diminished rapidly in intensity, and 

 finally merged in the blue of the sky, without its being pos- 

 sible to determine exactly this upper limit. It was exactly a 

 quarter to eight o'clock when I made this observation; the 

 sun had disappeared eight to ten minutes before. Possibly 

 the band existed some instants before I perceived it. It con- 

 tinued to be visible for more than forty-five minutes, moving 

 towards the north, as the sun did, but without ceasing to ap- 

 pear vertical, without inclining perceptibly toward the hori- 

 zon; only it diminished progressively in brilliancy, and con- 

 sequently in length. 



This phaenomenon was remarkably splendid, and excited 

 the admiration of a great number of persons. Dr. H* ■* •* , 

 showing it to his son, exclaimed, " Look ! there is the pillar 

 of fire that shone by night in the camp of the Israelites ! " 

 At Aigle, east of Lausanne, people thought that the chief 

 town was in flames. 



From a rapid survey of the polar star, I found that this 

 light was 50° west of the geographical meridian. Its depend- 

 ence on the sun, its distance from the magnetic meridian, and 

 the absence of abnormal perturbations in the magnetometer, 

 remove any idea of an aurora borealis. On the other hand, 

 the very decided parallelism of its lateral borders on an extent 

 of 35°, places this phaenomenon out of the class of ordinary 

 crepuscular rays. It is distinguished from those which were 

 particularly investigated by M. L. A. Necker, by its appear- 

 ance after sunset, by the absence of dark bands on its right 

 and left, by its gigantic dimensions, and lastly by its character 

 of constant width and solitude. If the point of view from 

 which it was observed took from it the illusory appearance of 

 divergence of the crepuscular rays, it seems necessary to at- 

 tribute its production to other causes than the clouds, to which 

 that able geologist and mineralogist attributed the common 

 origin of these rays. 



The following day, May 31, this same light was visible, but 

 very feebly. The sky, although clear, had not the rare trans- 

 parency of the preceding evening. The sun disappeared at 

 about twenty-five minutes past seven; the band was seen to- 

 wards ten minutes past eight 7° more to the north than the point 

 of setting, and traversed about 2° in five minutes. Various 

 accounts which I have received agree in tracing back the first 

 appearance of this phaenomenon to the middle of last April. 

 The 21st of May is stated as the day when the meteor was 



