346 On the Meteors of 13th November, 1833. 



in the same part of the heavens which Mr. Palmer found to expire 

 after four seconds, and which were in length 40° — from Mr Merrick's 

 estimate of time, and his remark respecting its angular velocity — and, 

 above all, from what the writer himself witnessed respecting the ra- 

 pidity of other meteors' flights, one cannot venture to assign to this mete- 

 or a longer duration than three seconds, or certainly than /our. Oth- 



— on e 



was the revolution, in a dark room, of a wheel of considerable diam- 

 eter having a brilliant spark attached to its circumference — whose 

 angular velocity was calculated, at the moment when the spark pre- 

 sented an apparent motion like that of the similar sparks which were 

 recollected in the sky. Without stating particular results, we may say 

 that it is only from a reliance upon Mr. Palmer's measurements that we 

 have been willing to assign a time of flight quite so long as even three 

 seconds. To the velocity deduced from these considerations some- 

 thing still must be added, for the effect of retardation in the atmos- 

 phere — an effect which we shall not now attempt to estimate. Our 

 conclusions come to this; that this particular meteor, and probably all 

 the meteors, entered the atmosphere with a velocity not less, but perhaps 

 greater, than fourteen miles in a second; that they became luminous 

 many miles from the earth — in this case over eighty miles ; and be" 



We 



rface — in this case nearly thirty miles. 



the meteors are to be ascribed to a celestial or a terrestrial cause ; 

 and to review, as was proposed in the beginning, the real strength of 

 the hypothesis advanced by Prof. Olmsted. In making this review, 

 however, the author proposes, as the more effectual method of trying 

 the basis of the hypothesis, not to tread upon ground occupied by that 

 gentleman, except in relation to one or two general and obvious ideas, 

 which are common to the two arguments ; but to pursue that line of 

 investigation which originally led the author to those coincident con- 

 clusions which Prof. Olmsted has alluded to, in his memoir. The 

 author begs leave here to repeat the remark that he is not able, as 

 yet, to adopt even his own inferences respecting the cause, in any other 

 way than as conjectural and highly credible — and even that, only in 

 obedience to a limitation which will be pointed out in the end of the 

 argument. This being understood, we put down, briefly and deci- 

 dedly, under a few general heads our ideas respecting the present as- 

 pect of this subject. 



