THE METEOR OF JULY 13tH, 1846. 253 



were published iu the Daily Herald of this city, but as I have seen no 

 copy of them in other papers, I fear they have not come to your knowl- 

 edge, and therefore take the liberty of sending you the principal par- 

 ticulars. 



Time, July 13, 1846, 9h 30m+ P. M., New Haven. 

 Place when fust seen. Az. 69° West of true South; altitude 10° 



— both uncertain, probably two or three 

 den^rees; and moreover the observei pro- 

 bably did not notice the meteor at the 

 instant it became visible. 

 Place of disappearance. Az. 87|° West of true North ; altitude If 



to 8°. Azimuth may be one degree more 

 or less; altitude very nearly correct. 

 Motion, exceedingly slow. Time of flight not less than 20 seconds. — 



This seems scarcely credible, but the 

 chief observer, who is an exact man, 

 well aware of the danger of over-esti- 

 mating small portions of lime, thinks 

 the time even longer. 

 Apparent size. Equal to that of the planet Venus on the 



average, at the same altitude. 

 The meteor left no train, emitted no sparks, and did not vary iu 

 brightness during its course. 



Unfortunately I did not sec this magnificent meteor, but as it was 

 quite well observed by a gentleman on whom 1 can rely, I thought it a 

 duty to put the observations in a proper shape and send them to the 

 press, as 1 have done in many similar cases. Several accounts of the 

 same body have come from Penn., N. Y., and Va., but so miserably de- 

 fective as to be of scarcely any use. Until I saw the notice in the Re- 

 cord, I could form no satisfactory opinion of the elevation and size of 

 the body. And, as you see, many more observations must yet be com- 

 pared before we have the meteor's history. The very slow relative mo- 

 tion of the meteor led me at once to suppose that it was travelling nearly 

 in the path of the earth, overtook and passed by it, with a real velocity 

 of perhaps twenty-five miles per second. That point of the Ecliptic 

 towards which the earth was then tending was at that hour beneath our 

 liorizon and in the N. E. quadrant. The elevation of the meteor at ex- 

 tinction could not have exceeded thirty miles, and was probably some- 

 what less. Its size must have been very great to have presented at this 

 distance so large a light, (for definite disc couUl not be seen), probably 

 not less than 200 feet in diameter, perhaps more; and yet lliere is so 



