100 UEPORT — 1870. 



Davidson aud Mrs. E. Davidson in 2^ 25'", between I'' 15'" and 3'' 40'" a.m., 

 was 556 meteors, the rate of frequency gradually increasing until 2'' 20"" a.m., 

 when it was five or six meteors in a minute, and again decreasing with 

 frequent minor maxima of abiindancc until the close of the observations, 

 when the rate of their appearance returned to nearly the same average, of 

 about three per miuute, as at the beginning of the observations. 



Although the star-shower returned in diminished brilliancy on the morning 

 of the 14th of November, 1869, it is evident, from the examples of these ob- 

 servations, that no well-marked moment of greatest abundance (like those 

 which were observed in 1866 and 1867) was again perceived in the last 

 November star-shower. The meteors seen on the mornings of the 13th and 

 15th of November were comparatively insignificant in their numbers at all 

 the points of observation. 



5. The Aiigiist Meteors in 1870. — The cooperation of observers in England 

 and Scotland having been solicited by the Committee, between the 5th and 

 the 12th of August, 1870, a considerable number of observations were made 

 at the stations, of which the following list furnishes the duration of the 

 watch and the number of the meteors seen by each observer. 



A considerable abmidance of meteors was observed at Hawkhurst on the 

 night of the 6th, and the second maximum of frequency took place on the 

 night of the 10th of August. On account of full moonlight aud occasional 

 clouds on the 10th, with a hazy sky, the hour of maximum was not definitely 

 fixed ; but six meteors were mapped in six mimites at Hawkhurst between 

 12" 12"" and 12" 18'" a.m. on the night of the lOth-llth. An almost total 

 absence of meteors was observed at Birmingham, the Eoyal Observatory, 

 Greenwich, East Tisted (Hants), and at Hawkhurst during the half -hour 

 between 11" 15'" and 11" 45"' p.m. on the night of the 10th ; a similar lull 

 in the meteoric shower was observed at Hawkhurst between 11" 10"" and 

 11" 40" p.m. on the following night. The hourly number of meteors seen 

 by two observers at Hawkhurst, between 10" 30'" p.m. and 12" SO*" a.m., was 

 eleven on the night of the 10th, aud nine on the night of the 11th, the sky 

 being equally favourable on both nights. 



The following is Mr. Wood's report on the meteoric shower observed at 

 Birmingham : — 



" Number of meteors seen per hour by one observer from 11" till midnight 

 on the nights of August 



Ratios of brightness of the meteors 

 from August 5th to 12tli. 



5th. 6th. 7th. 8th. 9th. 10th. 11th. 12th. J >lstmag.* 41 per cent. 



9 11 C 5 2 G 3 2 1 =lst-3rdmag.*28 „ 



L <ora mag.* ... dl „ 



"On the night of the 9th, from 10" to 11" p.m., one meteor only. 

 " On the night of the 10th, from 11" 14"' to 11" 48"' p.m., none. 

 " Weather favourable for observation throughout, except hazy on the 10th, 

 and fuU moonlight. v. 



Centres of emanation and rates per cent, from each 

 radiant-point. 



Numbers of 

 meteors per cent. 



T) Persei 30 ' 



y Persei 24. 36 per cent, were -red or 



e Cassiopeia; 12 I oraiipe-coloured meteors, 



Tj, 3, n and Tj (in Pegasus) . . 12 [ and the rest were blue, 



Njj, J3 (near jPolaris) 10 white, or green. 



^1' X. Oi (Neumayer) 12 ) 



