ae. REPORT—1849. 
Minoris, descending obliquely to the left at an angle of about 55°. It 
disappeared at an altitude of about 6°, at which time its azimuth must have 
been N. 10° or 11° E. Its whole visible tract did not exceed 7° or 8°, and 
it was brightest just before disappearing, but did not then exceed a star of 
2nd magnitude. Its colour was dusky red; duration perhaps 13 second.— 
W. S. J.” 
Ibid. “ Subjoined is an interesting notice of the meteor mentioned in our 
last. May not the circumstance alluded to by our correspondent account 
for the showers of dust and ashes occasionally observed at such vast distances 
from volcanos as to have proved subjects of much perplexity to those trying 
to explain them on the assumption of this being due to eruptions? The 
appearance of red snow, showers of blood, and the like, would be at once 
produced were iron reduced to peroxide by combustion to commingle with 
snow or rain during their fall. 
“¢On Thursday * evening, at Malabar Point, half an hour after sunset, I 
observed a splendid meteor about §.S.W., falling slowly on a plane inclined 
at an angle of 80° to the horizon (the acute angle being to the right). Its 
angular velocity about 2° per second. Mean time of observation 6°523 P.M, 
It passed about 2° to the left of a star of the first magnitude (viz. Canopus, 
its true altitude being 6° 53’, and true bearing S. 27° 28! W.). When first 
noticed it was a few degrees above the star, shining with a steady planetary 
light like Jupiter. When it had fallen to about the same altitude as the star, 
it blazed out with an intensely dazzling white light, brighter than Venus ; 
then quickly faded into a shower of what appeared dull reddish yellow sparks, 
and ended its course in a vertical direction, disappearing when about ¥° 
above the horizon. If this was an extra-terrestrial body, the direction of its 
motion in space showed as if it had overtaken the earth or its orbit. If the 
blazing out occurred when entering the atmosphere, its distance from Bombay 
must have been considerable (probably 150 miles), and its size corresponding 
(perhaps thirty yards in diameter). . It would be interesting if simultaneous 
observations could determine the height of this blazing appearance that 
almost all meteors have at some part of their course. I forget if Humboldt 
has anything conclusive on the subject. One remark, not to be found in the 
‘ Cosmos,’ but nevertheless true, is, that if a $21b. iron shot played the part 
of an aérolite and entered the atmosphere with the velocity of ten miles per 
second (a moderate velocity for such bodies), the heat generated by the 
resistance of the atmosphere would be sufficient to raise the temperature of — 
the shot one million of degrees. Such an immense and sudden evolution of 
heat would probably not only melt the iron, but oxidize it with an exhibition — 
of intense combustion, and the splendid meteor would finish its course by | 
gently descending to the ground in the shape of an insignificant red powder. 
Has this been the fate of the young planet of the 19th March ?’ 
“ The meteor was seen at Khandalla a few minutes before seven o'clock, 
travelling from N.W. to S.E., and is described as having been of exceeding ~ 
brilliancy. : 
“The following extract is from a letter received a month since from 
Hoshungabad, dated 6th April: can it be that the thick dust which filled the 
air betwixt the 28th March and 2nd April, was the debris of the meteor of — 
the 19th (March)? d 
“*From the 28th of March to the 2nd of this month, a haze, occasionally 
very dense, has covered the station. The opposite hills were sometimes invisi- 
ble, and the sun could be viewed with the unprotected eye until he attained an — 

* The day of the month does not appear, it was probably after the meteor of Friday 13th, 
and before the 30th: either 19th or 26th April. f 4 
i 
