XVII. 



\ 



On the Meteor which passed over Wilmington in the state of 



Delaware J JVov. SI, 1819. 



By NATHANIEL BOWDITCH, LL. D. 



N the 3l8t of November 1819, a reraarkahly large and bril- 

 liant meteor passed over Wilmington, Delaware, moving in a di- 

 rection between South and West, and at so great a height that it 

 was seen at the same time in Danvers, Massachusetts, and in J?al- 

 tiinore, Maryland^ by persons above 380 miles distant from each 

 other. It was also noticed at several intermediate places, and 

 some accounts of it were published in the newspapers soon after 



its appearance. All these observations concur in making it at a ' 



much greater height above the earth's surface, than the famous 

 Connecticut meteor, Avhich deposited so many heavy stones, and 

 the phenomena attending on both meteors were in many respects 

 very much alike, indicating a common origin and similar proper- 

 ties, though no stones were known to have fallen from the present 

 meteor. Ignorant as we now are of the origin of these bodies, it 

 becomes important, for the purpose of obtaining a (rue theory, 

 to collect and preserve all the facts relative to them, and to ascer- 



r 



tain, as nearly as possible, their heights, directions, velocities, and 

 magnitudes. With this view I have collected such observations 

 of this meteor as have come to my knowledge by means of the 

 public papers and by private communication^ and have made such 



40 



