270 HUBERT ANSON NEWTON. 



terra incognita, which astronomers had hardly troubled themselves to 

 claim as belonging to their domain, that he first labored to establish 

 law and order. It was doubtless not by chance that he turned his 

 attention to the subject of shooting stars. The interest awakened in 

 this country by the stupendous spectacle of 1833, which was not seen 

 in Europe, had not died out. This was especially true at New Haven, 

 where Mr. Edward C. Herrick was distinguished for his indefatigable 

 industry both in personal observation and in the search for records of 

 former showers. A rich accumulation of material was thus awaiting 

 development. In 1861, the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences 

 appointed a committee "to communicate with observers in various 

 localities for combined and systematic observations upon the August 

 and November meteors." In this committee Professor Newton was 

 preeminently active. He entered zealously upon the work of col- 

 lecting material by personal observation and correspondence and by 

 organizing corps of observers of students and others, and at the same 

 time set himself to utilize the material thus obtained by the most 

 careful study. The value of the observations collected was greatly 

 increased by a map of the heavens for plotting meteor-paths, which 

 was prepared by Professor Newton and printed at the expense of the 

 Connecticut Academy for distribution among observers. 



By these organized efforts, in a great number of cases observations 

 were obtained on the same meteor as seen from different places, and 

 the actual path in the atmosphere was computed by Professor Newton. 

 In a paper published in 1865 * the vertical height of the beginning 

 and the end of the visible part of the path is given for more than 

 one hundred meteors observed on the nights of August 10th and 

 November 13th, 1863. It was shown that the average height of the 

 November meteors is fifteen or twenty miles higher than that of 

 the August meteors, the former beginning in the mean at a height 

 of ninety-six miles and ending at sixty-one, the latter beginning at 

 seventy and ending at fifty-six. 



We mention this paper first, because it seems to represent the 

 culmination of a line of activity into which Professor Newton had 

 entered much earlier. We must go back to consider other papers 

 which he had published in the meantime. 



His first papers on this subject, 1860-62,1 were principally devoted 

 to the determination of the paths and velocities of certain brilliant 

 meteors or fireballs, which had attracted the attention of observers in 

 different localities. Three of these appeared to have velocities much 

 greater than is possible for permanent members of the solar system. 

 To another a particular interest attached as belonging to the August 



* Amer. Jour. Sci., ser. 2, vol. xl, p. 250. 



t Amer. Jour. Sci., ser. 2, vol. xxx, p. 186; xxxii, p. 448 ; and xxxiii, p. 338. 



