106 THE NOVEMBER METEORS. 



Denning says : " These meteors display different features 

 according to the varying conditions under which they are 

 presented, and according to their size. There is no doubt that 

 the individual particles show a great dissimilarity as regards their 

 real dimensions. During an abundant shower of Leonids the 

 smallest meteors visible to the eye are found to be interspersed 

 with occasional fireballs of the largest class. The fireballs will 

 burst out with lightning-like flashes, illuminate the sky and 

 landscape, and leave dense streaks, enduring in different cases 

 from one minute to several hours. Apart from actual differences 

 in size, the meteors exhibit peculiarities of appearances depend- 

 ing on the elevation of the radiant and on their apparent position 

 relatively to that focus. When the radiant has just risen the 

 meteors appear to traverse extraordinarily long flights, their 

 directions being nearly parallel to the earth's surface, and are 

 presented to the observer under the greatest possible angle ; on 

 the other hand, when the radiant is near the meridian, the tracks 

 are much foreshortened by perspective. With the radiant on 

 the horizon the tracks will generally be 40 or 45 long, while 

 they will not average more than 10 or 12 when the sickle of 

 Leo is culminating. Meteors which appear near the radiant are 

 very short, their lengths decreasing the nearer they are to that 

 centre. As a rule the brighter the meteors the brighter the 

 streaks and the longer their duration." 



E. J. Lowe, of Nottingham, says : " The great number of large 

 meteors on or near the S.E. horizon were orange-red, while 

 those between Leo and the north were white." 



T. Crumplin, observing in London, says : " Some were of a 

 gold or copper tint ; but the great majority were brilliant white 

 or blue, resembling the electric light. Sir Thos. Maclear speaks 

 of them as orange coloured leaving streaks of green." 



A. S. Herschel, of Glasgow, says : " A frequent colour of the 

 nuclei was a ruddy yellow, and the streaks of pale green." 



James Challis, of Cambridge, says : " There was a blue or 

 green appearance of several of the streaks with heads of a 

 ruddy colour." 



