348 Mr. Farey's Queries on Shooting Stars. 



with a]\ the precautions which an experimental solution of the 

 ■ above four questions may su(;gest to an intelligent and unpreju- 

 diced Observer, and attending to the gradations in every pai*- 

 ticular of the appearances ; such as, from faint to brilliant or 

 dazzling, in the degree of light emitted; from very small to 

 lar^e, in apparent magnitude ; from sliort to very long, in the 

 apparent course ; from slow to very swift, in the apparent mo- 

 tion, &c. ; will it not appear extremely probable, if not certain, 

 that the faintest shooting Star, appearing but for the fraction 

 of a second of time through an arc of a few degrees only, and the 

 most brilliant and obtrusive Meteor, holding on its course 

 through many seconds, across all the visible horizon, and per- 

 haps at intervals exploding, superficially, and throwing down 

 its stony fragments to the Earth, — will it not, it is asked, ap- 

 pear^ that we have such a connected chain of facts, as to force 

 the conclusion, that the whole of thesS appearances are refer- 

 able to one class of Bodies ? 

 6th. If with these lights thrown on the subject, two or more Ob- 

 servers at different places, not too far asunder, whose respective 

 bearings and distances are known, make corresponding or si' 

 multaneoiis observations, oi the instant of appearance (by a well 

 regulated clock), tlie direction of motion (nearly), and the 

 Track amongst the fixed Stars (with other particulars), of all 

 the shooting Stars or Meteors which may appear in or near to 

 some Constellation, and through a given number of Hour;), 

 both of which last, the Constellation and the Hours, had pre- 

 viously been concerted between the Observers ; will not the 

 necessary data thus be obtained, for certainly identijijing any 

 such luminous Bodies, as may have been simultaneouslv ob- 

 served ? ; and also for very nearly calculating their heights, 

 and over what Places on the earth's surface they were moving, 

 when so observed? : — and by a comparison of the apparent 

 directions of moving at the different Places, will not approxi- 

 mations to the direction (in azimuth) of the motions of such 

 Bodies be obtained ? 

 7th. When a considerable number of new ol)servations and cal- 

 culations shall thus have been obtained, and collated with those 

 results which have already been published, regarding several 

 Meteors, and with regard to the heights of a few shooting Stars : 

 if it shall appear, that the faintest and shortest courses of the 

 shooting Stars while visible, were severally performed within, 

 but not far within the nearly spherical shell of air which sur- 

 rounds the Earth, as an Atmosphere ? ; also, that the longer 

 and more bright courses of the shooting Stars ohscjved, were 

 generally performed somewhat deeper within the Atmosphere? ; 

 aUo that the smaller class of Mctoors, having a longer and 



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