311 



observer, and 18 to 21 seconds according to another ; at Johnshaven, 

 jths of a minute. The hour of the appearance of the meteor, in 

 most of the descriptions, is stated at between 5h. lOm., and 5h. 16ni. 



" The arc of the horizon which it was seen to traverse depended, 

 of course, on the point where the meteor first caught the observer a 

 eye. At Granton, it was traced by Professor Kelland through 

 125° of azimuth; at Perth, 130; at St Andrew's, 74° ; at Edin- 

 burgh, 76° ; at Durham, 65° ; at Glasgow, from 60° to 70°. The 

 division of the head or nucleus into several parts, and, first of all (in 

 most cases), into two, has been noticed with remarkably slight varia- 

 tion ; consequently, the explosion of the meteor marks a well-deter- 

 mined point in its path. The separation was specially noticed at 

 Edinburgh, Granton, Glasgow, Renfrew, Melrose, Haddington, Johns- 

 haven, Perth, Durham, St Andrews. 



" In a majority of cases a luminous train was observed ; and I am 

 confident, that the existence of this train, which has been estimated 

 at from 2° to 3° long, cannot be questioned. Dr Adamson, however, 

 especially remarked that no train was to be seen at St Andrews. 



•' On revising the whole accounts, it does not appear that any of 

 them can be relied upon, for ascertaining the position of the meteor in 

 space, except the observations of Mr Carrington of the Durham ob- 

 servatory ; of Professor Kelland, Mr Stirling, and myself, at Edin- 

 burgh ; of Dr Adamson and another observer, communicated by 

 Professor Fischer of St Andrew's ; of a young gentleman at Perth, 

 communicated by Thomas Miller, Esq., Rector of the Perth Aca- 

 demy ; and of A. D. Stevenson, Esq., and W. Gourlie, Esq., junior, 

 at Glasgow. My inquiries were chiefly directed to the two follow- 

 ing points : Jirst, the angular elevation of the meteor in the 

 NW. quarter of the heavens, where it is admitted by all that its 

 path appeared almost horizontal ; secondly, to the bearing of the 

 meteor at the instant of explosion. 



" At Durham, Mr Carrington saw the meteor first when the bear- 

 ing was true NW., the altitude (by theodolite) was then 10°, or 

 not exceeding 11°; when it burst, it was due N. (true), and con- 

 tinued to move 10° or 12° further before it disappeared. Professor 

 Clievallier, who obligingly communicated these results, states that the 

 meteor appeared rather to rise as it approached the north, but with 

 a doubt. This supposition, however, appears inadmissable, from the 

 unanimity of the other accounts. 



