42 REPORT — 1851. 



appearance was the same as that by the naked eye. I repeated the examina- 

 tion at different times for more than an hour, with always the same appearance 

 and shape. I could account for the perpendicular line, but not for the hori- 

 zontal, unless it had been the shadow of a huge mountain. Leaving the 

 matter to your superior judgment, I remain, 



" Dear Sir, yours very truly, 

 "Rev. B. Powell." " Thos Rankin." 



No. 9. — Extract communicated by Prof. Chevallier. " May 1, 1851. 



" Brilliant Meteor. — An unusually bright meteor was seen at Durham, and 

 in the neighbourhood, on the evening of Sunday, April 27, at 10^ 5™ p.m., 

 mean Greenwich time. It was j^articularly noticed at Durham, at Bishop- 

 wearmouth, and at Esh, six miles west of Durham, and no doubt will have 

 been seen over a large district of country. The following account is given by 

 a gentleman of Durham, who observed the meteor from the cross road which 

 leads from the London road, south of Durham, towards the Grammar School 

 and South Street : — 



" ' It was a clear starlight night, when suddenly a blaze of soft yellow 

 light oversjjread the country for some distance. The light seemed to fall 

 gently on the ground and to run along it. It was so intense, and came on 

 so suddenly, that I was startled by it. One or two seconds must have elapsed 

 before I discovered the cause. This proved to be a beautiful meteor, which 

 seemed to be about a quarter as large as the moon at the full. It was sur- 

 rounded by a rich purple light, fading into blue ; then a good deal of orange ; 

 and lastly, a light yellow, which was the colour of a considerable train which 

 followed the meteor. It moved with considerable rapidity, and was visible 

 for four or five seconds after I first discovered it. I could not tell whether it 

 vanished into the air, or was hidden by some intervening object ; but the 

 impression on my mind was that it had fallen to the ground. It did not 

 appear at any very great height ; and, indeed, I listened for the sound of it 

 falling, which I thought would most likely be heard very shortly after it dis- 

 appeared.' 



" Upon revisiting the place where this observation was made, and comparing 

 the direction in which the meteor passed with the surrounding objects, it ap- 

 pears that the meteor, when first seen (which was some seconds after its light 

 was first noticed), was at an altitude of about 70°, in the W.N.W. direction, 

 and moved gradually towards the north, disappearing very nearly due north. 



" The appeai-ance of the meteor, as seen at Bishopwearmouth, was very 

 similar. 



" At Esh, the meteor was seen very favourably, the jjerson who noticed it 

 being on the side of a hill quite open towards the north. The light was so 

 brilliant, that distant objects were seen as distinctly as in daylight. The 

 meteor was estimated to be about half as large as the full moon ; it appeared 

 near the zenith in the north-west, and moved towards the north. When 

 the meteor burst, sparks were distinctly observed to drip from it ; but no 

 noise was heard, either at the instant or within a few minutes afterwards. 



" From the first description it appears, probably, that the meteor appeared 

 somewhat nearer to the zenith at Esh than at Durham. 



" Near Alden Grange, two miles west of Durham, the sparks falling from 

 the meteor, when it burst, were distinctly observed, and appeared of a bright 

 blue colour, compared to that of a lucifer match. One person there observed 

 the meteor first in the S.E., moving gradually to the N.W. 



" If this meteor should have been noticed in other parts of Great Britain, 

 a comparison of different accounts may lead to a knowledge of its real course. 



" Temple Chevallier." 



