the Meteor of February 11, 1850. 253 



V 



which the meteor passed. As regards the altitude, I took a 

 carpenter's square rule, lo which I attached a plumb-line and 

 a pair of compasses, the leg of which was fixed along the level 

 of the upper horizontal line of the square, and found that the 

 point where the meteor first appeared, according to my recol- 

 lection, was at an angle from the horizontal line about 40 

 degrees; the point where it disappeared behind the houses 

 bore an angle of 5 degrees* above the horizontal line ; thus the 

 space through which the meteor passed my eye was 35 de- 

 grees. From where I stood to the back of the houses where 

 I lost sight of it was about 250 yards, and the height of the 

 top of the houses above where I stood was about 35 feet. 



" I have inquired of different parties, but have learnt no- 

 thing except from Mr. Leach, proprietor of the Bristol Times 

 newspaper, whom I accidentally saw in his office when calling 

 there. He told me that when going home along St James's 

 Place, Kingsdown, Bristol, a retired quiet street running by 

 the map due north-east, he saw the meteor suddenly appear 

 over the houses on the east side, as if rising, and then disap- 

 pear behind the houses on the other side of the street. 



" The meteor seemed to cross the street obliquely, and just 

 as it was disappearing it burst into many small luminous 

 bodies, then into again smaller, which again burst into others. 

 He (though the spot was perfectly quiet and retired) did not 

 hear any noise of explosion. He told me, however, that a 

 person residing at Brislington, three miles east of Bristol on 

 the Bath road, told him he heard a slight sound. I was 

 anxious to get from Mr. Leach further particulars, as they 

 seemed to me most important ; but the above were all I could 

 collect. The meteor certainly passed to the north of Bristol." 



XXXL Reading, favoured by the Rev. Charles Joseph 

 Goodhart. 



" I was coming down Castle Hill in this town, and the 

 meteor burst upon me all at once on the opposite side of the 

 way, so that I was able to measure its path by the houses 

 opposite. This, as nearly as I can tell, subtended an angle 

 of about 35 degrees, and I should think at an altitude from 25° 

 to 30°. Its length I should have guessed at about 1° 30', but 



azimuth of the meteor at the time of its first appearance was about 10° 

 K. ofN., and at its last appearance about 33°E. ofN. The difference 

 between these values is one point, and not two, as mentioned above. I 

 fear the values are not correct. 



* This altitude is certainly incorrect. With the azimuth of 10° E. of 

 N., the line of direction of the meteor is cut nearly over Kidderminster. 

 From the given altitude of 40°, its distance from the earth at this time 

 would be fifty.eight miles, which from other observations is too great. 



