Review of Professor Olmsted on Meteors. 1 83 



sky-rockets. These meteors were of three kiiifis ; the first, composed of 

 phosphoric lines, apparently described by a point ; these were most nu- 

 merous, and resembled a shower of fiery snow, driven with inconceivable 

 velocity to the north of west : the second consisted of large fire-balls, 

 darting along the sky at intervals, and leaving luminous trains, which 

 remained for a number of minutes, or in some cases for half an hour, 

 appearing as though the stars were falling from the sky : the third pre- 

 sented the appearance of undefined luminous bodies, which remained sta- 

 tionary in the heavens for a long time.: these were of various apparent 

 sizes and shapes. U'ith the exception of one of these latter meteors, which 

 is stated to have exploded with the noise of a cannon, there is no conclu- 

 sive evidence that these phsenomena were accompanied by any peculiar 

 sound; nor is it held as a fact well established, that any substance reached 

 the ground, which can be considered as a residuum or deposit from the 

 meteors, although indications of such a substance were supposed to be dis- 

 covered by diflferent observers. 



These meteoric phsenomena were followed by remarkable anomalies in 

 the seasons and atmospheric changes, though whether connected witli each 

 other or not is unknown. A remarkable change of weather from hot to 

 cold, either accompanied or immediately followed, the meteoric shower. 

 The height of one at least of the meteors of the second kind does not ap- 

 pear to have been considerable, since the cloud of vapour, into which it 

 finally subsided, was apparently carried along by the wind : their general 

 altitude, however, together with the direction in which they were projected, 

 arc points deserving of a separate consideration, and it is upon the latter 

 that the new views of the author are brought to bear. It is remarkable 

 that all the meteors seemed to emanate from one and the same point, that 

 is, if their lines of direction had been continued backward, they would have 

 met in the same point, a little south-east from tiie zenith. This radiant, 

 or point of emanation, was observed, by those who referred its position to 

 the stars, to be in the constellation Leo ; and although by observers at re- 

 mote distances it was still seen in the same constellation, yet it was in 

 different parts of it, a change of position supposed to be due to parallax. 

 It was first observed by Professor Olmsted, and tlie observation has been 

 confirmed by others, that this radiant point was stationary among the fixed 

 stars during the whole period of observation, that is, that it did not move 

 with the diurnal revolution of the earth eastward, but accompanied the 

 stars in their apparent progress westward. Hence, the c-onclusiou that 

 " the meteors had their origin be.yond the Ihnits of our atmosphere," and 

 did not therefore belong to this earth, but to the regions of space beyond 

 it, and were independent of its rotation. 



fVhat is the height of the place whence the meteors proceeded? that is, 

 their distance from the surface of the earth? If that place were not too 

 distant from the earth to have a parallax, it would appear under a different 



