224 REVIEWS OP NEW PUBLICATIONS. 



not follow this course were marked by the professor as unconformable. They had 

 generally a slower motion than the others, particularly when moving horizontally 

 from west to east. 



A full moon was shining so brightly that no stars below the third magnitude 

 were visible, and therefore only very brilliant meteors could be seen at all. 

 About forty were of such size and splendour that they might be compared to 

 Venus and Jupiter, and in a dark night they must have been splendid fire-balls. 

 Many, on the contrary, were mere momentary flashes. Most of the meteors 

 were followed by trains. In most instances these appeared to be merely the 

 continued impressions of light on the eye, just as we often fancy we perceive the 

 flame of a candle after it is extinguished, in a dark room ; but in many cases the 

 train remained visible so long as to leave no doubt of its being an actual deposit 

 of luminous matter. 



The velocity of most of the meteors was surprising, their transit frequently 

 occupying not more than a quarter of a second, and seldom exceeding a second. 

 It has previously been stated that those which passed horizontally from west to 

 east had a comparatively slow motion, in corroboration of which we may observe, 

 that on the evening of Nov. 16, at lOh. 25m., Professor 0. saw a large dull red 

 meteor sailing along the southern sky from west to east, at an elevation of 20°, 

 which occupied ten seconds. 



Thus far the personal observations of our author and his young friends. At 

 New York no shooting stars were seen till two o'clock, from which time till sun- 

 rise 70 were counted, many of them extremely brilliant, and followed by trains. 

 The point of radiation was nearly, if not quite, the same as in 1836. Another 

 observer counted from 40 to 50 meteors between the hours of two and six. Many 

 of the fainter kind were excluded from the estimate. The display continued 

 until all the stars were swallowed up in the broad light of day. 



At Emmittsburgh (Maryland) the first meteor was seen at twelve minutes 

 past one, the number gradually increasing up to half-past four, when they 

 were most numerous. From a quarter to four till five o'clock 52 meteors were 

 counted. 

 u At Buffalo (New York) the heavens were entirely obscured by dense clouds. 



At Western Reserve College (Ohio) the view was interrupted by the same 

 misfortune till a quarter before three, when the sky was clear until twenty-three 

 minutes before five. During this interval 74 shooting stars were counted, the 

 greatest number being seen in the south-east, and the least in the north-west. 



Shooting stars are generally supposed to occur chiefly between the 13th and 

 15th of November. Hear Professor Olmsted on this point : — 



