February 27, 1896J 



NATURE 



395 



o 



THE GREAT MADRID METEOR. 

 N Monday, February lo, at Qh. 29m. 30s., there was 

 observed an instantaneous bluish-white illumina- 

 tion in the atmosphere, so strong and vivid as to be 

 visible in the inner rooms and in the open air. 



The day was a magnificent one : blue sky, no wind, and 

 a radiant sun. 



Soon after there was plainly visible near the zenith, and 

 some few degrees to the south-east, a white spot, like 

 smoke, bearing north-east to south-west, of about 6° 

 length and i*^ wide ; its form was semicircular, with the 

 convexity turned to the east. In the centre, and near the 

 apex of the curve, it presented a condensation of a reddish 

 colour, similar to those of clouds at sunset. The general 

 appearance of the spot was that of a light cirro-cumulus. 



At gh. 30m. 40s. there was heard a deep and very strong 

 detonation, accorrg)anied by many others not so intense, 

 similar to the noise produced by a large cannon-ball 

 running along the upper storey of a house. This noise 

 was very prolonged ; it was found to last two minutes. 



Meanwhile the vibration of windows and partitions 

 (not the thick walls) was extraordinary, and the rattling 

 of panes of glass alarming. In some houses all the 

 window-glasses were broken. 



Judging from the time which elapsed between the light 

 and the sound of the first detonation, the meteor exploded 

 in the air at a distance not inferior to 24 kilometres ; and 

 this number is evidently too low. 



Considering the aspect of the spot of smoke, it seems 

 probable that the meteor proceeded from the south-east 

 towards the north-west, and that near the zenith of Madrid 

 it exploded. 



Changed into smoke and dust, totally or partially, 

 this smoke was carried away by the superior currents of 

 the atmosphere to the east. We find here a splendid 

 confirmation of the theory which supposes that, at the 

 upper limits of the air, the wind moves from west to east. 



In the accompanying rough sketch, one part corre- 

 sponds to the trajectory of the celestial body ; and the 

 other, which forms an angle with the first, to the action 

 of the aerial current. 



was still perfectly visible like a light cirrus in the east at 

 some 20° above the horizon. ■ 



The compression of the atmosphere in the instant of 

 the conflagration was indicated by the ' registering 

 barometers. In the aneroids the! trace is small ; but in 

 the mercurial one the column rose i 6 m.m., and lowered 

 07 m.m., the amplitude of the total oscillation being 

 2"3 m.m. 



In the neighbourhood of Madrid some fragments of 

 the meteor fell, and I have obtained one of them. 



-Aspect and position of the cloud some minutes after the expio 

 A, Condensation of a reddish colour. 



The accompanying photograph of the phenomenon 

 was taken by an amateur some few minutes after the 

 explosion. 



The cloud continued its course to the E.N.E., or 

 E.I^N.E., dissolving gradually away, and at 3h, p.m. it 



NO. 1374, VOL. 53] 



Fk;. 2. — Photograph of the cloud immediately after the explosion. 



Externally the fragment is of a black metallic aspect ; 

 inside it is of white stony appearance, with some brilliant 

 points like nickel ; it weighs 63 grams. 



From information received later, it appears that the 

 phenomenon was visible in a large part of the Peninsula, 

 from Sierra de Estrella (Portugal) to Denia in the 

 Mediterranean coast, and from Segovia to Aguilas, or a 

 distance of 700 kilometres from east to west, and 400 

 from north to south. These are inferior limits. 



AUGUSTO Arcimis. 



THE FRHLED LIZARD : '• CHLAMYDOSA URUS 

 KINGiy 



THE above-named lizard inhabits the northern or 

 tropical territories of the Australian continent, and 

 is tolerably abundant in both North Queensland and the 

 "Kimberiey district of Western Australia. Its earliest re- 

 cord is that given by Captain Philip P. King, in his 

 " Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical Coasts of 

 Australia" (1826), and wherein it is named, figured, and 

 described in a Natural History Appendix by Dr. J. E. 

 Grey. 



The habitat of the frilled lizard is essentially sylvan, 

 its resort being the thickly-wooded scrublands, and its 

 favourite abiding-place the trunks and lower limbs of the 

 larger trees. The length of the finest examples rarely 

 exceeds three feet, and of this the long, rough, though 

 slender tail monopolises the greater moiety. Living 

 specimens exhibit a considerable individual colour varia- 

 tion. The predominant hue of the body is pale brown 

 with reticulated markings ; while the frill, in the males 

 more especially, is usually decorated with interblending 

 tints of yellow, scarlet, and steel-blue. 



No. living example of this singular lizard had, up to the 

 present year, been brought alive to Europe, a circum- 

 stfince which will account, to a large measure, for the fact 

 of certain abnormal phenomena connected with its life- 

 habits having hitherto attracted little or no scientific 

 attention. Through the possession of living specimens 

 of Chlamydosaurus in both Queensland and Western 

 Australia, several interesting data concerning the species 

 have fallen within my notice. Having, furthermore, suc- 

 ceeded in bringing one out of several examples embarked 

 safely to England, my presentation of the animal to the 



