On the Meteors of 13th November. 393 
(3.) One in the northeast, was heard to explode with a sound like — 
that of a rush of a distant sky rocket. The time from the explo- 
sion to the hearing, was about 20 seconds. (N. York Commercial 
Advertiser.) 
4.) At 4 o’clock, it appears that ic lana, sors of one of the fal- 
ling balls. was sensibly he heard. (New York Old Countryman.) 
(5.) President Humphreys heard no and at Annapolis, Md. (See 
(6.) ‘Dr. Smith, at Salisbury, N.C., heard no sound in the case 
of a meteor larger than the full moon, ‘e though every sense seemed 
to be suddenly aroused, in sympathy with the violent impression on 
the sight.” Nor did he at any time hear any aerial noises. (p. 379. 
(7.) I could apne no report even from the largest of these 
bodies. r. V. H. Barber, Frederic, 
(8.) A crackling set attended them both. (Richmond En- 
quire 
be ) Loud explosion said to have been heard off Charleston. (See 
91.) 
“pce ee is well known that persons unaccustomed to ob- 
servations in the stillness of night, are apt when listening, at such 
times, to hear sounds which they associate with any remarkable phe- 
nomenon that happens to be present, although wholly unconnected 
with it. This fact suggests the necessity of caution in the present 
case ss 
Meteors which were distinguished for their brightness and ap- 
parent magnitude, and which would therefore be expected to: afford 
sounds, might still be too distant for such sounds to be audible; or 
might be in a region of the atmosphere where the air is too much 
rarefied for the purposes of sound. It is possible that fragments of 
such large meteors might reach the ground, and give a slight report, 
while the explosion of the great body of the meteor was unheard. 
(See Mr. Palmer’s observations, p. 384.) 
The question whether any sounds proceeded from the meteors, 
must rest, for its decision, on the circumstances of the ease ; such as 
the peculiarity of the sounds, their nature as described by different 
observers, &c. 
7. Course AND DIRECTION.—The meteors moved either in right 
lines, or in such apparent curves as, upon optical principles, can be 
resolved into right lines. ‘To some observers, they appeared to des- 
cend directly downwards ; to others to tend towards the northwest ; 
and to others, to move in every direction. . 
50 
Vou. XXV.—No. 2. 
