3o6 



NATURE 



\yuly 24, 1879 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include a Lesser White-nosed Monkey (Cercopithecus 

 petaurisla) from West Africa, presented by Mr. Robt. F. 

 Clothier ; two Ring-tailed Lemurs (Lemur calta) from Mada- 

 gascar, presented by Mr. Hugh McCubbin ; a European Bearded 

 Vulture (Gypadus barbatns) from Southern Spain, presented by 

 Lord Lilford, F.Z.S. ; three Globose Curassows {Crax globicerd) 

 from Central America, presented by Major F. Hime ; a Lesser 

 Sulphur-crested Cockatoo {Caeatiia ienuirostris) from Moluccas, 

 presented by Miss Langley ; a White-tailed Gnu (Caloblepas gtiu) 

 from South Africa, two Mule 'Deer (Cervus macrotis) from North 

 America, a Common Ocelot (Fdis pardalis), a Red and Yellow 

 Macaw {Ara chloropterd) from South America, deposited ; a 

 Funereal Cockatoo {Calyptorhynchus funereus) from New South 

 Wales, four Common Crowned Pigeons (Goura coronala) from 

 New Guinea, two Yellow-bellied Parrakeets {Platycercus Jlavi- 

 ventris) from Tasmania, an American Kestrel (7'innuncuhis 

 sparverius) from South America, a Smooth Snake (Coronella 

 ItEvis) from Hampshire, purchased. 



ON TWO METEORS OBSERVED IN SWEDEN 

 IN 1877' 



'T'HE first meteor was observed over a great part of the middle 

 -^ . of Sweden from Stockholm, in the east, to Charlottenberg 

 (and _ Christiania), in the west, and from the neighbourhood 

 of Areskutan, in the north, to Jonkoping, in the south. 

 Accounts of the phenomenon by forty-seven different observers 

 are given. By a comparison of a number of those observations 

 it appears that the meteor was seen nearly simultaneously over 

 the whole of the area where it was visible, on March 18, at 7h. 

 S2'5m. P.M. Greenwich mean time. The phenomenon lasted 

 only a few seconds. 



When lines, showing the direction in which the meteor was 

 seen from every separate point of observation to sink under the 

 horizon or in which the last explosion took place, are drawn on 

 the map, most of them meet on the Lake Vener, in the region 

 of Vermlands Nas. The terminal point of the meteor's path 

 was thus clearly situated above this region. Observations from 

 Stockholm, that the meteor disappeared about half way be- 

 tween the moon and the horizon, and from Orebro that it split 

 into fragments by the side of the moon, show that the last ex- 

 plosion took place at a height of 37 to 38 kilometres. Observa- 

 tions from Carlstad and Edsvalla, that the meteor passed through 

 the zenith, and from Mora, that its path was vertical, indicate a 

 projection of its path over Mora and Carlstad, to Vermlands 

 Nas. At first its inclination appears to have been only about 

 30°, but afterwards it became considerably greater. Besides the 

 final explosioa there were three other points of the meteor's path 

 at which it threw out sparks, the first at a very considerable 

 height— Wi^ zoo kilometres, the second at a height of ICO to I Jo 

 kilometres. These figures, for which, however, no great degree 

 of accuracy can be claimed, are ..deduced from an observation 

 made in the neighbourhood of Orebro. That the continuation 

 of the meteor's path could not be observed from this point was 

 probably caused by the masses of dense cloud which the meteor 

 heaped before it in its path, and which, in the neighbourhood of 

 the place where it fell, almost completely concealed it from 

 view. 



As is commonly the case with meteor detonations in general, 

 the sound was propagated \^■ith excessive irregularity, violent 

 explosions having been heard in some places, while in others 

 close by the whole phenomenon appeared to proceed without 

 sound. 



The circumstance that in the region of Vermlands Nas, at 

 Edsvalla, Carlstad, KinnekuUe, and other places over which the 

 meteor sprang asunder for the last time, no proper fireball was 

 visible, but only a thrice-repeated lightning-like flash, shows that 

 here, too, a part of the meteor's light was intercepted by the 

 dense, cloudy masses which the meteor drove before it. A 

 remarkable observation was made at Skinnskatteberg. There 

 the strongly-luminous meteor projected on the snow-covered 

 ground four or five bands of light ^^ilh dark intervals, "without 

 there being any object between the meteor and the earth to cast 



^ By Prof. Nordenskjold. Abstract of two papers in Trans, of the Geo- 

 logical Society of Stockholm, 1878, Isos. 45, 46, and 47. 



a shadow," the shadow in this case having probably been caused 

 by fragments of cloud in the neighbourhood of the meteor. 



The diameter of the meteor, as calculated from a number of 

 observations of apparent size, varied from 200 to 2,500 metres. 

 Prof. Nordenskjold considers it probable that the Vener meteor, 

 in its path through the atmosphere, formed a luminous ball of 

 400 to 500 metres' diameter. 



When the above-described phenomenon took place, the ground 

 in the middle and north of Sweden was still covered with snow, 

 a circumstance favourable for ascertaining whether any solid 

 particles fell from the meteor in question in the form of meteoric 

 dust to the surface of the earth. Prof. Nordenskjold requested 

 a student, Herr Svenonius, to proceed to the supposed place of 

 fall, and to endeavour, both by his own researches and by in- 

 quiries of persons resident in the region, to discover any remains 

 of the meteor. He travelled several times across the region, 

 and employed a large number of people in searching on the ice 

 on Lake Vener. The result was negative, with the exception 

 that Herr Svenonius found on Lake Vener small quantities of a 

 black or dark grey dust, of doubtful origin, which under the 

 microscope appeared to consist of — 



1. Small aggregates of cells derived from higher plants and 

 isolated or coupled plant-cells. 



2. A black colloid substance, which formed the main mass 

 of the dust. 



3. Inorganic particles of dust, which were isotropical, and 

 could thereby be easily distinguished from grains of sand, which 

 entered very sparingly into the mixture. The dust scarcely con- 

 tained any particles that were capable of being attracted by 

 the magnet, whereby it differed completely from the dust 

 collected on the polar ice during the Swedish expedition of 

 1872-73. From the small quantity of material that could be 

 employed for analysis, no complete chemical examination of the 

 inorganic constituents could be carried out. The principal con- 

 stituents were silica, 38 per cent., oxide of iron, 34 per cent., 

 alumina, 8 per cent. No trace of cobalt, nickel, or phosphorus 

 could be discovered. 



The dust was found in small quantity on the borders of 

 the small pools, which, under the influence of the spring rise 

 of temperature, were formed everywhere on the ice of Lake 

 Vener. 



It is probable that this meteor mainly consisted partly of gaseous 

 substances, partly of carbon, so finely divided that it was com- 

 pletely burned during the short path of the meteor in the atmo- 

 sphere of our globe. 



The second meteor was seen on April 29 at 8.37 p.m. 

 Greenwich mean time, over the greater part of Sweden, from a 

 point lying a little to the south-east of Gothenburg to Vittangi in 

 the extreme north. It was also seen over a great part of Fin- 

 land, and at St. Petersburg and Dorpat. Accounts from no 

 fewer than seventy-three different places are given. The meteor 

 had, when first observed, the appearance of a large star. Its- 

 size increased, however, at first slowly, afterwards rapidly, SO' 

 that it at length gave out a light so bright that the country over 

 which it passed was lighted up as if it had been full day. The 

 light increased in brightness until the meteor exploded about half 

 way between LuleS and Pitea at a height of 35 kilometres. The 

 time that elapsed between the first aj^pearance of the meteor and. 

 its explosion did not exceed a minute and a half. The pheno- 

 menon, however, did not come to an end then. A part of the 

 meteor appears, after the explosion, to have continued its course, 

 and perhaps may have passed out of the atmosphere. Besides 

 the usual line of sparks which generally marks the path of a 

 meteor for some moments, there occurred in this case along ^. 

 considerable part of the path a splendid light phenomenon of a 

 red colour, Tjuhich, howruer, was 07ily observed in regions far re' 

 moved from the place of explosion. This red appearance lasted from 

 fifteen to thirty minutes. After it ceased the path of the meteor 

 was still marked in the heavens for a long time (upwards of an 

 hour) as a light band of cloud, which first assumed a zigzag form 

 and then gradually disappeared. The whole phenomenon accord- 

 ingly lasted nearly two hours, and it is probable that tjie meteor, 

 or parts of it, both when it first appeared as a star and after the 

 red light ceased, shone not with its own light biUwith light re fleeted 

 from the sun. 



The statements as to the time during which the fire-ball itself 

 was luminous in the atmosphere differ, varying from some few to 

 ninety seconds. The latter, however, is the only one which has 

 reference to the whole of the time during which the meteor was 

 luminous from its first appearance as a large star to its explosio* 



