438 SPECIAL RESULTS IN THE URANOLOGICAL 



spersed among thousands of shooting stars ; but the identity 

 of these two kinds of igneous meteors is nevertheless, as yet, 

 by no means proved. Affinity is not identity. There still 

 remains much to be investigated in the physical relations of 

 both these classes ; as also respecting the effect, remarked 

 by Admiral Wrangel on the shores of the Icy Sea ( 701 ), 

 produced by shooting stars on the development of the 

 Aurora Borealis ; and the many vaguely described, indeed, 

 but not therefore to be hastily denied, luminous processes 

 which appear to have preceded the formation of some fire- 

 balls. In the greater number of cases, balls of fire have 

 appeared unaccompanied by falling stars ; and there has been 

 nothing periodical in the phenomenon. What we know of 

 shooting stars, in respect to their radiation from particular 

 points, can for the present only be applied with great caution 

 to fire-balls. 



Meteoric stones fall, in very rare cases, with a perfectly 

 clear sky without the previous formation of a black meteor- 

 cloud, and without any luminous phsenomena being seen, 

 but with a loud and terrible crashing sound, as at 

 Klein Wenden, not far from Muhlhausen, on the 16th 

 of September, 1843; or, which is a less rare case, 

 they are hurled from a suddenly formed dark cloud, accom- 

 panied with phenomena of sound, but without light ; and 

 lastly, and this is the most frequent case, the fall of meteoric 

 stones takes place in close connection with bright fire-balls. 

 Well- described and indubitable examples of this connection 

 are afforded by the falls of stones at Barbotan (Dep. des 

 Landes), on the 24th of July, 1790, accompanied by the 

 appearance, at the same time, of a red ball of fire and a small 

 white meteoric cloud ( 702 ), from which the aerolites fell; the 



