Nov. 21, 1873.] 5U1 [Kirkwood, 



ON THE METEORS OF JANUARY 2nd. 

 By Professor Daniel Kirkwood. 



{Read before the American Philosophical Society, November 2,1st, 1873.) 



The second of January was first designated as a meteoric epoch in 

 1839, by the late Edward C. Herrick, Esq., of New Haven, Connecticut. 

 Modern observations of this shower have not been sufficient to determine 

 the rate of its nodal motion : it may be worthy of remark, however, that 

 a progressive movement equal to that of the meteors of November 14th, 

 would bring the display of December 2d, A. D. 848, forward to the 

 epoch of January 2d. The dates of the star showers derived from this 

 swarm, the first being doubtful, are as follows : 



1. A. D. 848, December 2d, assumed to correspond to the modern epoch 

 of January 2d.* 



2. 1825. On the morning of January 2d, a shower of falling stars was 

 seen in Tuscany, Italy. During the display, about five o'clock, a bril- 

 liant fireball appeared, which was doubtless derived from the same 

 meteor group.f 



3. 1835. On the 2d of January, according to M. Wartmann, an extra- 

 ordinary apparition of shooting stars was observed at Mornez, near 

 Geneva.:): 



4. 1838. January 2d, a similar display was reported by the same 

 observer. § 



5. 183'J. M. Bravais states that the night of January 2d, 1839, was 

 very remarkable at Bossekop, in Finland, for its great number of shoot- 

 ing stars and a magnificent aurora. || 



6 1840. On the night of January 2d-3d a great number of meteors 

 were observed toward morning by M. Duprez, at Gand. At the same 

 time a bright aurora was seen at Geneva, and magnetic perturbations 

 were noticed at Prague.^ 



7. 1862. A shower of meteors was seen at New Haven, Connecticut, 

 on the morning of January 2d. About four o'clock, as many as three 

 per minute were seen by one observer.** 



8. 1863. On the morning of January 2d, Mr. Still man Masterman, at 

 Weld, Franklin County, Maine, saw meteors falling at the rate of 48 per 

 hour-. . On the morning of the 1st, also, they were unusually numerous. ft 



9. 1864. January 2d, R. P. Greg, Esq., of Manchester, England, and 

 Professor A. S Herschel, "mapped each about 60 meteors in two hours. "il 



10. 1865. " On the morning of January 2d, 1865, shooting stars were 

 sufficiently numerous to attract the attention, at New Haven, of those 

 who were not aware that unusual numbers were looked for on that 

 morning. "§§ 



"Quetelet's Catalogue. 



tSilliman's Journal, March, 1 5 62. p. 290. 



*Quetelet's Catalogue. § Ibid Jib. U lb. 



** Silliman's Journ., March, 1832, p. 290. 



tt Silliman's Journ., January, 1S63. p. ISO. 



%t lb., May, 1864, p. 445 §§Ib. , March, 18G5, p. 231. 



