20 



REPORT 1860. 



Their directions at different hours of the night, and numbers, are given in 

 the annexed Table: — 



The 44 bolides which were observed from 6 p.m. till 10 p.m., were seen 

 during 694^- hours of observation, which gives one bolide for 15 hours 

 47 minutes for that part of the night, of which the average is 9 o'clock. 



The 76 bolides from 10 p.m. till 2 a.m. were seen in 848J hours of obser- 

 vation, which gives one bolide for every 11 hours and 10 minutes for the 

 second part of the night, with the mean of midnight. 



The 4S bolides from 2 a.m. till 6 A.M. were observed in 340 hours, winch 

 gives one bolide, for every 7 hours and 5 minutes for the third part of the 

 night, the mean being 3 a.m. 



The number of bolides being therefore inverse of the times as above, for 

 each bolide, if one allows 100 for midnight, we should find from 



6 to 10, average 9 p.m. 



No. of bolides. 



... = 71 



10 to '2, average midnight ... =100 



2 to 6, average 3 a.m. 



= 158 



The number of bolides seen about 6 a.m. is triple the number of bolides 

 observed in the evening, a result which accords with the horary and usual 

 variations of shooting-stars generally. 



Out of 168 bolides observed, there were 101 which left longer and shorter 

 trains of light of different degrees of duration. 



Out of the same number there were 20 which burst into sparks after a 

 course more or less arrested by the rupture. 



Lastly, there were 8 which changed their original velocity, or became sta- 

 tionary in their course; two which changed their direction towards the end 

 of their path, and one which had an oscillatory movement. 



M. Coulvier-Gravier elsewhere remarks that 6th magnitude falling stars 

 have arcs or paths of from 40° to 9°. 



