480 PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. [ANNO 1784. 



it was extinguished the night appeared very dark : Mr. A. could however see by 

 his watch that it was 17 m after 9. The whole appearance of the meteor, from 

 its first rising out of the hazy part of the atmosphere to its total extinction, did 

 not exceed 10 or 12 seconds of time, during which it moved a space correspond- 

 ing to about 136° in azimuth. Mr. A. recollected an appearance during its mo- 

 tion, which confirmed him in the idea he had of its not being a solid body. In 

 its progress it did not describe a curve as regular as might have been expected 

 from such a body ; but seemed to move in somewhat of a waving line. The 

 meteor appeared extremely near to him, more particularly when it was at the 

 highest ; yet from the comparisons made of observations at several distant places, 

 we may reasonably judge that it could not be at less than 40 or 50 miles distance 

 from the surface of the earth. 



The meteor of Oct. 4 was of a much shorter duration and path. Mr. A. was 

 near the stones end, in Blackman-street, Southwark ; his face turned northward. 

 He saw, towards the n. n. e. a train of fire, resembling in its motion a common 

 meteor, vulgarly called a falling star, but its colour was red; it originated at an 

 altitude of from 25 to 30°, and moved quickly in a straight line eastward, in- 

 clining gradually towards the horizon, so as to be, after a course of 15° or 20° 

 in azimuth, about 15° above the horizon, when it spread into a broader train, 

 and became of a lighter colour, it terminated by resolving into a beautiful ob- 

 long body of the brightest fire, like electrical fire tinged blue, almost as large as 

 the moon; it illuminated the street and houses much more than any lightning he 

 had seen ; those who had not a direct view of it, took it for a long flash of 

 lightning. He thinks its whole course did not exceed 25°, nor the time of its 

 appearance 2 or 3 seconds. It extinguished quickly, and left behind it, in its 

 path, a train of very dull reddish fire, which continued visible to the naked eye 

 above a minute and a half. The time of night was 43 minutes past 6; it was a 

 fine star-light evening, warmer than the preceding ones; the moon beyond the 

 first quarter, and very bright; yet her light was not to be compared to the much 

 greater light of the meteor. Mr. A. did not recollect hearing any noise or 

 report, either during or after the appearance of these meteors. 



XI. On the Remarkable Meteor seen Aug. 18, 1783. By Wm. Cooper, D.D., 

 F.R.S., Archdeacon of York. p. 11 6. 

 No person, says Dr. C, could have a better opportunity of discerning this 

 awful meteor than myself. The weather being, for this climate, astonishingly 

 hot, by Fahrenheit's thermometer, on a north position, and in the open air, 

 having for several days preceding graduated between the hours of 10 in the 

 morning and 7 in the evening from 74° to 82°, I set out on a journey to the 

 sea side. The weather was sultry, the atmosphere hazy, ami not a breath of 



