Shooting Stars’ of August 9 and 10, 1840. 329 
direction of their paths was similar to the general course on the 
9th. The evening of the 6th was overcast. The evenings of 
the 7th and 8th were mostly clear, yet I made no special obser- 
vation, preferring to watch in the morning, but, unfortunately, 
the sky was too much*clouded both on the mornings of the 8th 
and 9th. The night of the 9th was beautifully clear and serene. 
Mr. Francis Bradley, Mr. J. 'T. Hotchkiss and myself, watched 
most of the night, each confining his attention to a quarter of the 
heavens, the southern being neglected during the moon’s pres- 
ence. At 3 A. M. (10th) Mr. Amos Hill (who with his son had 
been in company with us the whole time) took charge of the 
southern quadrant. Our station was on the summit of the Hos- 
pital, which commands an unobstructed view of the heavens. - 
The following isa statement of our observations; the meteors 
being reckoned in that quadrant in which they started: 
1. Number of Meteors noted. 
w. N, E. & Total 
Aug. ~~ 10h. * lh p.m 15 bee |) 
1 oe ae 18: :- 19:46 ze 53 
a6 43 i Md cde, 218 BO He 71 
Bui eit BP csctpor eA oe 145 
_ [At 2 a.m. the moon set. ] 23 
10th, 2h.to 3h.am 75 72 90 95 332 
a oe me con* AT 35 36 59 177 
Three observers can not generally detect more than three 
tiie of the meteors which would ‘be seen by four; and four 
observers are certainly insufficient to secure the whole. _ Brilliant 
meteors may undoubtedly be seen through half the heavens, but 
we have often found that many of the fainter class pass unnoti- 
ced if the observer is not looking within ten degrees of their 
_ path. Until a few minutes before setting, the moon’s light must 
have concealed from our view about half the meteors which ac- 
tually fell. ‘Taking these circumstances into account, it can not 
be reasonably doubted that if the moon had been absent, more 
than 1500 shooting stars would have been visible at this place 
between 10 P. M. of the 9th and 4 A. M. of the 10th. The aver- 
age number of these meteors visible to four observers during the 
like space of time at ordinary seasons may be taken at about 250, 
‘ 
