OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. 329 



It has also diminished in apparent magnitude, and the light has changed 

 from a strong yellowish-white to a dull bluish-gray color. 



" The tabular order of the mean relative magnitudes of the satellites 

 is, — third, fourth, first, second. 



" One of the most remarkable features attending the progress of this 

 phenomenon was the rapidity with which the change from bright to 

 dark took place. At 9''' 15'"' there was no indication of change, unless 

 the apparent gradual fading of the light of the satellite is so considered, 

 but which I should rather attribute to the increased amount of light re- 

 flected from Jupiter nearer this centre. At 9''- IS'"' 30'", when I again 

 saw the satellite, the dark part had so increased as not to be mistaken 

 for a moment, and my son represents the change as taking place al- 

 most instantaneously, not leaving a doubt from the first. 



" The satellite was watched for some time after the transit, and it 

 appeared to be gradually resuming its pristine brilliancy." 



Mr. Mitchell read the subjoined account of a remarkable 

 meteor, which was seen from Nantucket, on the 6th of March 



last. 



" On the 7th of last month (March), 1S48, while in Boston, I re- 

 ceived a letter from my daughter, at Nantucket, stating that on the pre- 

 vious morning, at about half past two o'clock, a meteor of surpassing 

 magnitude and brilliancy was seen by several persons, and its report 

 was so loud that many individuals were awakened by it. With a view 

 of eliciting information from other quarters, I requested the editor of 

 the Evening Transcript to give publicity to the fact, simply as I have 

 now stated it. 



" On returning to Nantucket, so much was said of the magnitude 

 and extreme brightness of the meteor, and of the loudness of the re- 

 port, that I was induced to make a systematic investigation of the cir- 

 cumstances attending it, in view of the possibility that some of the 

 fragments, or the undivided body itself, might have fallen upon the 

 island. 



" Among the witnesses of the phenomenon were two of the street 

 watchmen, both intelligent men, who were situated, at the moment, 

 Bj^.jO feet asunder, and in a direction from each other nearly at right 

 an2;les with the direction of the meteor as first seen. With each of 

 these gentlemen I went to the spot which they respectively occupied 

 when they first saw it, and by the aid of buildings in the vicinity I 



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