On the Meteors of IStk November, 1833. 157 



instantly contracted in length, and assumed the form of a serpent, 

 with its head to the north ; that it continued to contract in length, 

 doubling and crossing itself, and forming a confused line, like that of 

 a loose cord or a piece of tape dropped endwise on the floor, and 

 then gradually dilated, and intermingled its folds, and assumed the 

 form of a light cloud, passing off slowly in an easterly direction." To 

 this description Mr. Tomlinson annexed a drawing representing the 

 successive figures of the train, which agree in general with those ob- 

 served by myself. The time and other circumstances also accord 

 so well in the two cases, that we can hardly resist the impression that 

 both spectators were observing one and the same object. Proceed- 

 ing on this supposition, we may form some estimate of the height of 

 this train, that is, of the place where the fire ball exploded. This 

 place being 40° from the zenith of New Haven, and at or near the 

 zenith of Brookfield, distant 25 miles, the elevation above the latter 

 place must have been about 30 miles, that being the tangent of the 

 angle of elevation. It favors the supposition, also, that the large fire 

 balls were extinguished at a considerable height above the earth, that 

 little or no sound was heard, while we should expect a heavy report 

 from bodies of such magnitude, moving with such prodigious velocity 

 through the lower regions of the atmosphere, whatever might have 

 been their density. Jl appears moreover that whenever a cloud was 

 so situated as to enable the spectator to compare its elevation with 

 that of the falling meteors, the latter appeared the most elevated. 

 Thus Capt. Parker in the Gulf of Mexico saw the fire balls pass 6e- 

 hind a cloud, but not one passed between the cloud and the observer; 

 and Professor Hitchcock says that " in no instance was a meteor ob- 

 served between the clouds and the earth." (See his Essay in the 

 last number of this Journal.) Brydone also testifies, that shooting 

 stars seen from Mount Etna and the highest peaks of the Alps, al- 

 ways appeared as high as when seen from the lowest grounds. 



Two difficulties, on the other hand, attending the supposition that 

 the place of explosion was as high in this case as 30 miles, are very 



formidable. 



f 



rfthe 



The train of 



this meteor is judged to have been at least 10°, and others seen by Mr. 

 Tomlinson were thought to be 40° in length. Since a body half a 

 degree in diameter at the distance of 30 miles would have an actual 

 diameter of T 3 T of a mile, it follows that a body 10° in length, must 

 have extended over a space 5 T 3 r miles long. Again, the cloud mo- 



