= 
_ Proceeilings of the American Philosophical Society. 68 
; method employed in observing; by which a greater proportion of the 
2 
% 
meteors seen was marked unconformable, and excluded from the general 
estimate. : ; 
Apparent; Apparent 
August meteors. R. A. of | Declin. of |No. of| Probable | Probable 
: : ‘the point jthe point of, obser-| error of | error of 
Place of observation and date. ofconver-| conver- | va- | single nal 
= . g gence. |tions.| result. result. 
: ¥ 
1837. Berlin, August 10, » 217.18 sPoal 46 |+-20.1|4-2.96 
Bresiaw, “107, 221.76 —51.41200|+19.5|+1.38 
1839. Berlin,  “ 9, 224.86) - 50.18 50/+11.9/+1.68) 
1839. Berlin, “ 10, 223.88) — 52.39, 48 | 13.3/+1.92 
1839. Berlin, mite 5 5 218.45) - 51.05 43/+13.5|+2.06 
1839. Konigsberg, 10, 214.85) — 55.59, 75 |=21.0)-+2.42 
1839. Konigsberg, 11, 215.11 ines 74|+17.4|+2.02 
1840. Philad. 9d. 10h. 57m. 216.14) - 55.76; 12| 2.3)0.67 
ilad. A (214.71|- 55.43) 15|= 4.1/1.05 
1840, Philad. 9 15 6. [219.25|—55,12) 29|+ 1.2/+0.22| 
Mr. Walker referred to some of the analytical conclusions drawn by 
Mr. Erman* from the fact, which the Philadelphia observations of this 
year go to confirm, that these meteors appear to converge nearly to a 
common point in the heavens. 
“Ist. Mr. Erman concludes, that these bodies are of a cosmical origin ; 
at they move in a continuous ring-formed stream, of not less than 3° in 
breadth; that the plane of the center of this stream is inclined at least 
56°, probably more than ¢ 0°, and not exceeding 124°, to the plane of the 
ecliptic,—an inclination which hitherto comets alone have been known to 
possess, . 
“2d. That their least velocity in space Aug. 10.5th, is 55 hundredths 
‘that of the earth in its orbit, giving them a period round the sun of 128 
days ; that their greatest velocity is 143 hundredths that of the earth, 
which would locate them at this time on the perihelion of a parabola or 
ellipse of period indefinitely great. 
"8d. That to renfove this uncertainty of their velocity, between 55 
and 143 hundredths that of the earth, it is only necessary that two ob- 
“ervers, at a distance apart, should trace with precision the apparent path 
Of the same meteor, and one of them at least its duration. “This condi- 
om. had not yet been fulfilled in Europe, otherwise the entire elements of 
Korie orbit would have been approximately determined. 
4th. That their perihelion distances are not less than 2 hundredths 
"or more than 97 hundredths of the earth’s mean distance from the sun. 
BS ng ee see , a 
* Astr. Nachr., Nos. 385, 390, and 404. 
cd 
