On the Meteors of 13th November, 1833. 143 



then consider the consequences of a slow progressive motion in the 

 cloud from north to south. Following the eastern limits, as the only 

 one within our observation, we see that places lying on the same me- 

 ridian, south of the place of the cloud at any moment, would pass 

 to the eastward before the cloud would be vertical. This would 

 cause the eastern line to extend in a direction from N. E. to S. W. 

 Such we believe to have been the fact. In lat. 2° N. Ion. 41° W. 

 the phenomenon was not visible. In lat. 36° N. Ion. 61° W. " an 

 unusual number of meteors were seen, but comparatively few, not 

 more than four or five in a minute." (See the last Vol. of the Jour- 

 nal, p. 399.) But, in this longitude, as far north as St. George's 

 Banks, the display was as great as at New York. Capt. Parker al- 

 so, in the Gulf of Mexico, actually saw the cloud advancing from N. 



E. to S. W. 



An observation of Mr. Riddell at Worthington, Ohio, would seem, 

 at first view, to be at variance with this fact. " It first occurred to 

 me (says Mr. R.) to determine the location of the point from which 

 the Meteors seemed to radiate, a little before 5 o'clteck. A gentle- 

 man present, happened to have a map of the constellation Leo, so 

 that we had no difficulty in recording our observations pretty accu- 

 rately. At 5 o'clock, the R. A. of this point, as since determined 

 from a globe, was near 149°: its declination, 21° 45'. Twenty 

 minutes later, the R. A. was 151°, dec. 21° 30 7 , nearly. From 

 this time, until the meteoric exhibition was rendered invisible by the 

 light of day, the center of radiation seemed to retain the same place 

 in the heavens, moving westward with the fixed stars. 



From this observation, it appears that before it became stationary, 

 the cloud or source of the meteors, had an absolute motion from N. 

 W. to S. E. How then could it appear to Capt. Parker, to advance 

 from N. E. to S. W.? Resolving the southeasterly motion into two 

 motions, one directly south, the other directly east, had the latter por- 

 tion been exactly equal to the diurnal motion, the cloud would have 

 been seen by Capt. Parker, (who referred the motion to the terres- 

 trial meridian,) to advance directly south ; but had the easterly part 

 of the motion been less than that of the earth, the cloud would have 

 apparently advanced from N. E. to S. W. The latter supposition, 

 namely, that the progress of the cloud was so slow that the easterly 

 part of the motion was less than the diurnal, is probably the true one 



"* 



Letter to the writer, Dec. 21, 1833. 



