518 



METEORS. 



what a beautiful effect was produced by such an un- 

 usual appearance. The meteors all radiated from a 

 general centre, situate between Aries, Perseus, and 

 Cassiopoeia, and from this point a continuous shower 

 was maintained in all directions. At half-past eight 

 they had multiplied so much that upward of 100 a 

 minute could easily be counted, which, giving an 

 average, say, of 6,000 an hour, would still be con- 

 siderably less than the actual number visible during 

 that time. From half-past nine to a quarter to ten 

 the shower had increased to such an extent, that it was 

 quite hopeless attempting to estimate the number. 

 The sight was then, indeed, grand, and the phenom- 

 enon was viewed with feelings of wonder and awe 

 at such a marvellous and brilliant display of Nature. 

 The majority of the meteors were moderate in size, 

 of a bluish-white tint, and each left a streak of faint 

 white light behind, which in the larger ones re- 

 mained visible for a considerable time. The streak on 

 one or two occasions was distinctly seen to change 

 its form and position, resembling a delicate white 

 cloud drifting slowly away. In the eastern sky a 

 few of them took an irregular or special course in 

 their journey downward. Near the radiant point 

 they all appeared as if travelling slowly, and did 

 not extend to any great distance. This, I believe, is 

 always observed in similar radiating showers, and is 

 usually attributed to foreshortening. In the north- 

 ern sky many were seen of great brilliancy, chang- 

 ing from violet to red, and passing downward from 

 Cassiopceia to the horizon. The shower lasted until 

 after midnight, when the number rapidly lessened, 

 and by four o'clock in the morning only a few stray 

 ones were visible at intervals. The few which I was 

 fortunate enough to observe by means of the spectro- 

 scope (a Browning's direct vision) exhibited a pale- 

 blue line, but in those of the larger variety I was 

 enabled to detect violet and yellow. 



From a rough calculation I should estimate that at 

 least 30,000 meteors must have been visible between 

 the hours of 6 p. M. and midnight. I do not imagine 

 they are in any way connected with the ordinary 

 November meteors of the 13th and 14th, as the radi- 

 ant point of the latter is in the constellation of Leo, 

 and there is also a difference of nearly fourteen days 

 between the dates of the two showers. 



Dr. 0. T. Jackson, State Assayer of Massa- 

 chusetts, sends to the American Journal of 

 Science his analysis of a meteoric iron found 

 at Los Angeles, Gal. The original mass 

 weighed about 80 pounds. 



The following are the results of the analysis 

 per cent. : 



Metallic iron 80.74 



Metallic nickel 15 73 



Metallic tin o!oi 



Phosphorus and other undetermined matters. 3.52 



moo 



The specific gravity of this iron is 7.9053. 

 Dr. Charles U. Shepard, Sr., reports, to the 

 same magazine, his analysis of a piece of me- 

 teoric iron (weighing, in original mass, about 

 85 pounds), picked up in Eldorado County, 

 Cal. The fragments sent to him were free 

 from all traces of sulphur, and had a specific 

 gravity of 7.80. The proportion of iron in the 

 specimens was 88.02, and of nickel, 8.88. 



July 23d, a meteorite fell near Lance, France, 

 penetrating the ground to the depth of about 

 5 feet 9 inches, and weighing nearly 103 

 pounds. A second and smaller meteorite, 

 which belonged to the same body before its 

 explosion, fell about 7i miles from the former 

 place. August 8th, a meteoric stone fell at Af- 



file, Italy. The luminous body from which it 

 came was seen over a large part of Italy, and 

 is described as a globe of fire moving slowly at 

 first, and leaving behind a train like a cloud 

 lit up by the sun. Suddenly it brightened up 

 to the size of the full moon, and then disap- 

 peared, and, three or four minutes afterward, 

 a tremendous detonation was heard, causing 

 houses to rattle. The noise of the explosion 

 differed from that of thunder, resembling more 

 the explosion of a mine, and followed by a 

 rolling sound, like file-firing. The vapor-like 

 residue of the meteor remained visible for 

 some minutes after the disappearance of the 

 main body. 



Prof. J. W. Mallet, of the University of Vir- 

 ginia, in a paper read before tire British Royal 

 Society, gives the results of his search for 

 gases occluded in specimens of meteoric iron 

 found in Augusta County, Va. In the follow- 

 ing table 'he compares his analysis with that 

 made by the late Prof. Graham (Master of the 

 British Mint), upon a piece of meteoric iron 

 discovered in Lenarto, Hungary : 



The gases obtained by Prof. Mallet, in his 

 experiment, agree more nearly with those of 

 common wrought-iron (clean horseshoe-nails) 

 as found by Prof., Graham, viz. : 



Hydrogen 35.0 



Carbonic oxide 50.3 



Carbonic anhydride 7.7 



Nitrogen 7.0 



100.00 

 The author says : 



Although the proportion of hydrogen found is so 

 much less in the Virginia than in the Lenarto iron, 

 it yet represents for the former about 1.14 times the 

 volume of the iron itself, whereas common terres- 

 trial iron occludes but about 0.42 to 0.46 of its own 

 volume under ordinary pressure. I am quite satis- 

 fied, from the condition of the masses of iron as they 

 came into my hands, and especially from the charac- 

 ter of the crust, that the metal has not been sub- 

 jected to any heating in a blacksmith's fire or othe 

 wise by human hands since it was found, as h 

 sometimes happened to similar specimens in the er 

 deavor to discover their nature, or to make use of 

 them. Whether or not this analysis be considered 

 as furnishing presumptive evidence of the Virginia 

 iron having come to our earth from a different at- 

 mosphere to that of which the Lenarto meteorite 

 brought us a sample, the result differs so far from 

 that of our sole previously-recorded determination 

 of the kind as to make it a matter of much interest 

 that a larger number of meteoric irons, from various 

 localities, should be subjected to careful examina- 

 tion in the same direction, thus supplementing our 

 knowledge of the fixed constituents of these curious 

 bodies by a study of their gaseous contents. 



In a communication to Nature, Prof. Lo 

 Conte, of the University of California, esti- 

 mates the heat of meteoric stones, when mov- 



