A CATALOGUE OF OBSERVATIONS OF LUMINOUS METEORS. 47 



the exact time, when a bright yellowish glare suddenly illumined the tele- 

 scope, and looking up I was in time to follow the course of a very fine me- 

 teor, which probably appeared somewhere in Leo, and had passed not far 

 from the field of the telescope. There was a strong glare on the ground as 

 the meteor passed on in the direction nearly of Arcturus, a little below which 

 it burst into a number of brilliant balls and sparks. It was a little larger ap- 

 parently than Venus at her greatest brilliancy, but the light was very vivid 

 while it lasted. The most curious thing connected with it was, after the 

 burst, the sparks or dust remained apparent^ in the same spot, or, falling 

 into a spiral form, preserved a bright light not unlike that of the great ne- 

 bula in Orion as seen through a telescope. I put the telescope on the spot 

 instantly, and could see the sparks or dust slowly descending, some sparks 

 being very bright indeed. This appearance lasted several seconds, and when 

 I had taken my eye from the instrument, there was still a nebulous appear- 

 ance in the sky, which however gradually faded. It is probable that this me- 

 teor burst not very far from the earth. The telescope was a 44-inch DoUond, 

 with a power of 120. This is the most remarkable meteor I have seen this 

 year, and though I have noted several others of remarkable appearance and 

 brilliancy, yet there was nothing which required any particular mention to 

 you. I think there have been quite as many small meteors or falling stars 

 this year as I remember before, but your correspondents and yourself have 

 taken ample notice of them, and the time is past when observations are 

 necessary." — Bombay Times, December 1 8. 



No. 18. — " We have heard of the fall of a remarkable aerolite, which took 

 place at a village named Sulker, a short distance from Bissempore, on the 

 30th November (1850) at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. The fall was accom- 

 panied by an explosion, said to have resembled that of a cannon. The stone 

 buried itself about 4 feet in the ground. On being extracted, it was found 

 to be Z^ feet round by If. "We hear that Captain Hannington has obtained 

 possession of it,'and that it will be forwarded to the Asiatic Society." — Ibid. 



No. 19. — " We have received from a friend a letter, dated Camp Beerb- 

 hoom district, 8th January, 1851, giving the following description of a me- 

 teor, the more singular as seen in the day time : — 



" ' A meteor of surpassing brilliancy was seen this morning at twenty mi- 

 nutes past nine, in a N.N. W. direction; its elevation when first observed 

 was about 25° above the horizon ; its appearance was that of a brilliant 

 electric spark-coloured ball of fire, with a narrow but bright train ; its de- 

 scent towards the earth was in an oblique direction, and when a few degrees 

 from the horizon, it broke into a thousand brilliant and glittering particles 

 of light, from amongst which a darker mass was seen to fall towards the 

 earth, the glittering particles disappearing and reappearing as they fell ; or 

 to use a terrestrial simile, the numerous particles of light looked like a shower 

 of broken glass, or a highly polished metallic surface glittering in a bright 

 sunshine : the shower lasted a few seconds only. The sky was cloudless, 

 and the sun shining brightly; thermometer in the shade S?'^ Fahr.'" — 

 Citizen, January 1 1 . 



No. 20. — January 10th. A large meteor was seen at half-past one o'clock 

 P.M. on the E. by N., as observed from the Esplanade. It first appeared 

 about 45° from the horizon, was of a light red colour, and shot downwards 

 and northwards ; it vanished without e?:plosion after traversing a path of 

 about 15°. It increased in apparent size as it advanced, and left a long line 

 of red sparks behind it, the whole extent of its path. These did not appear 

 to change their position for some time after the disappearance of the meteor ; 



