32 REPORT—- 1853. 



APPENDIX. 



No. 1 — Extract of two letters to Professor Powell from W. J. Macquorn 

 Rankine, Esq., enclosing one from Dr. Myrtle. 



" 59 St. Vincent Street, Glasgow, June 6, 1853. 

 " Sir, — Enclosed I beg leave to transmit to you a register of three luminous 

 meteors observed on the 12th of December 1852 ; and also a register of one 

 observed in 1839, which I have prepared from some sketches and memo- 

 randa that had lain forgotten amongst other papers until now. It is evident 

 that the latter was an object near the surface of the earth, and indeed, less 

 than a quarter of a mile from the place of observation. 



" The sketch is as nearly as possible a fac-simile of a pen-and-ink sketch 

 made by one of the observers on the same morning, which I have now in 

 my possession. 



" I am, &c., 



" W. J. Macquorn Rankine." 



" 59 St. Vincent Street, Glasgow, 6th July, 1853. 



" Dear Sir, — Enclosed I beg leave to send you Dr. Myrtle's account of 



the luminous object seen near Edinburgh on the 8th November, 1839 



.... It is difficult to determine the real path of the object. I formerly came 

 to the conclusion, that it must have moved nearly in a parabola, situated in 

 a plane passing through Gibraltar House, and must have gone almost directly 

 over the house ; but the appearance described by Dr. Myrtle, of an object 

 moving almost vertically downwards, is inconsistent with this supposition. 



" With respect to the fact of its having seemed to Dr. Myrtle to disappear 

 behind Salisbury Crags, I may mention, that the ridge on which Gibraltar 

 House stands, as shown in the enclosed plan, might readily be confounded 

 with part of Salisbury Crags when seen from the westward during the night. 



" The apparent size of the object, as seen by Dr. Myrtle, viz. somewhat 

 larger than Venus, compared with its apparent size as seen from Gibraltar 

 House (nearly twice the diameter of the moon), shows that it must have been 

 very near the latter point. 



" I am, &c., 



" W. J. Macquorn Rankine." 

 " The Rev. Professor Powell." 



Enclosure. — Extract of a letter from Dr. Myrtle to Mr. Rankine. 



" Edinburgh, 24 Rutland Street, July 5th, 1853. 

 "I was returning about one o'clock in the morning from Newington, when 

 on looking towards Salisbury Crags I observed a bright luminous meteor, to 

 appearance more than twice the altitude of the Crags, falling in a somewhat 

 perpendicular direction with considerable velocity towards the Queen's Park 

 and the valley eastward from the Ci'ags : it had for a short time, though some- 

 what larger, very much the colour and appearance of the planet Venus, and 

 I really took it for a planet till I observed its motion : when it had fallen to 

 about the third part of its course as observed by me, it suddenly began to 

 emit sparks, which was continued throughout the remainder of its course, 

 decreased in size, and at last disappeared behind the Crags. 



" John Young Myrtle." 

 « W. J. M. Rankine, Esq." 



