On the Meteors of loth November, 1833. 329 



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inferred that the radiant did, in fact preserve the same position, nearly, 

 among the stars which it afterwards occupied, — as observers not on 



their guard are inclined to overestimate altitudes; but this inference 

 is embarrassed by the fact that Capt. Seymour saw the radiant in the 

 S. E. whereas Leo, at that time, lay almost due E ; as well as by the 

 fact that Capt. S. supposed the radiant not to have moved from the S. E. 

 nor to have changed its altitude at six in the morning — an hour when it 

 certainly was near the S. and 68° in alt. The explanation of this might 

 be found perhaps to be that at 6 o'clock Capt. S. saw the point above 

 the high houses of N. York, whereas before, in Tappan Bay, he had 

 a large and unobstructed horizon. On the whole the probability 

 that an observer having a clear horizon would estimate 68° to be 45° 

 is so small as to make it credible that in this case, the radiant was in 

 fact, at some time of the night, seen at a low or medium altitude. 



The observations of Capt. Parker, (Vol. xxv. p. 399.) who 

 being in the Gulf of Mexico, Lat. 26° N. Long. 85° 20' W. saw the 

 meteors at three o'clock A. M. confined to the N. E. and saw also 

 the radiant 45° high in the due N. E. confirm the same conclusion. 

 The point of Leo before alluded to was then, in fact, as seen from that 

 spot, 43° 30' high ; but its azimuth, instead of E. 45° N. was only E. 

 5° N. making that point 28° distant in the heavens from the radiant. 

 This aberration in azimuth would suggest a doubt whether these obser- 

 vations, made on the very edge of the shower, can assist our conjectures 

 respecting the early positions of the radiant elsewhere, if there were 

 not reason to believe on other grounds that the radiant occupied a more 

 northerly position in southern latitudes than it did in latitudes farther 

 from the equator ; while, as we shall see hereafter, the variation in 

 right ascension was inconsiderable* 



Mr. Palmer, who viewed the radiant many times between half-past 

 two o'clock and morning, is decided in his belief that it neither chang- 

 ed in altitude nor azimuth; and although no observations were made 

 by him having this question expressly in view, and although it is cer- 

 tain that the radiant did move towards morning more than 30° in the 

 heavens, — yet if the altitude of the radiant, when first seen, had been 

 as low as the constellation Leo, it is inconceivable that so great a 

 change of position should not have been perceived. It must also be 

 considered that, if the radiant was the vanishing point of parallel 

 motions, and if the meteors became luminous by their entrance into 

 the atmosphere, no meteors could be seen while the radiant was 

 below the horizon ; and therefore the appearance of the meteors so 

 early as 9 o'clock of the preceding evening must dissipate the idea of 



