330 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY 



was able to ascertain, to tolerable satisfaction, the apparent direction of 

 its motion, and its position when earliest seen. Taking afterwards, by 

 means of a circumferenter, the difference of its apparent position at 

 these extreme points, and assuming that the eyes of both obsei'vers 

 were directed to it at the same moment, which is the more likely to be 

 true, from the fact, that they were both facing the region occupied by 

 the meteor, I found its parallax with this base to be 6° ; its direction 

 from one being south 52^-° east, and from the other south 4G^° east, 

 each at an estimated altitude of 30°. 



" The report occurred ninety-two seconds after the entire extinction 

 of the illumination, and after the meteor, without any appearance of 

 separation, had reached the horizon. 



" To obtain the measurement of this interval, I requested each 

 watchman separately, and without the knowledge of the other, to move 

 onward in his usual pace to the position at which he had arrived when 

 the report was heard, and during this period, I noted the time by a 

 chronometer ; and it is certainly remarkable, that by this rude method 

 they differed from each other less than five seconds. 



"All parties agree that the illumination was quite equal to that of a 

 bright moon, giving to every visible object a frightful aspect ; and 

 also that the brilliancy of the meteor was extremely painful to the eye. 

 Only two persons with whom I have conversed were so situated as to 

 follow its course quite to the horizon, or near to the point of its con- 

 tact with the earth. Those individuals testify, that it emitted no scin- 

 tillations, but maintained a perfectly circular form through its whole 

 course. The report is said to have been startling ; the rattling of win- 

 dows and jarring of the houses are spoken of by many witnesses, every 

 one noticing that, unlike the discharge of cannon or a peal of thunder, 

 it was without reverberation. Some persons who were roused by the 

 extreme light, but did not see the illumination, supposed it to have been 

 the jar of an earthquake. 



" Observers differ widely in estimating its apparent diameter, though 

 they were requested to observe the moon as the standard of measure, 

 ment. Some supposed it exceeded the moon ; others, and quite the 

 greatest number, thought it less than the moon in apparent diameter, 

 the lowest estimate being two thirds the disk of that luminary. I take 

 twenty minutes to be the optical apparent diameter of the meteor ; 

 stripping this of all possible illusion arising from its dazzling brightness, 

 I am persuaded that it subtended an angle of at least twelve minutes. 



