Meteor. A469 
A BRILLIANT METEOR. 
Ipswieh, Dec. 18, 1817. 
S1r,—It-may-not.be uninteresting to some of your readers to 
have an account of a brilliant meteor J observed on the morning 
of the Sth instant, at three minutes before one o'clock. I was 
looking at Mars, whose position is near to. the star in the bull’s 
northern horn. About midway between the two horns I sud- 
denly perceived a fiery body resembling a red-hot ball of iron, 
four or five inches in diameter, which havin 1g passed three or four 
degrees in a direction between the principal stars of Capella and 
Canis minor, burst into a spherical body of white light nearly as 
large as the full moon, of so great lustre as scarcely to. be borne 
by the eyes, throwing out a tail about three degrees in length ofa 
beautiful rose colour tinged round the edges with blue. -It thus 
proceeded in its course without apparent diminution towards the 
principal star in the head of Hydra, (very near to the ecliptic,) a 
little beyond which it suddenly disappeared (I believe) with an 
explosion ; as T distinctly heard a rumbling noise like that of 
cannon discharged at a distance, about ten or twelve seconds 
afterwards. Its duration as nearly as I can estimate was about 
five seconds, during which it traversed a space of nearly sixty de- 
grees. It is scarcely possible to. give an adequate description of 
the vivid splendour which characterized this extraordinary phee- 
nomenon. It cast a light around equal to the noon day’s sun: 
I could compare it to nothing so well as the beautiful dazzling 
light exhibited by the combustion of phosphorus in oxygen gas 3 
its effect upon the organs of light being analogous. The baro- 
meter was falling at the time, and in the course of the night fell 
altogether an inch and one tenth; the thermometer 42°. Within 
a quarter of an hour afterwards the atmosphere became entirely 
obseured by clouds ; violent tempests of wind and rain succeed~ 
ing, although the stars were preyiously visible and the zenith free 
from vapours. The short period elapsing during the meteor’s 
course renders it difficult to be more particular in ‘description, as 
it may scarcely be possible altogether to resist the influence of 
imagination upor a phenomenon so unexpected, so striking, and 
so beautiful. Astonishment and pleasure not unmixed with awe 
_ oppress the mind with a variety of reflections, not the least of 
which is our total inability accurately to account for these blazing 
wonders of the aérial regions. 
As this part of Meteorology appears to be in its infancy, I 
should think it would be very desirable if. plan could be pointed 
out for more particularly observing and noticing these bodies ; 
so that a series of tables might hereafter be made of them. i 
should suppose the distance of this meteor must have bagu about 
two miles, and height rather more than a mile and a half. 
I am, Sir, &c. J.A, 
