126 REPORT— 1866. 



The meteor of the 19th November, 1861 (v. Ecport 1862, p. 79), as seen 

 at Woodford, at first appeared stationary for two seconds at a point in Cetns. 

 The epoch of the 19th — 21st November accordingly deserves attention, 

 partly as one for which the direction of the detonating meteors has been as- 

 certained, and partly because their frequent returns within very narrow limits 

 of time about that date makes it jn-obable that, like the meteors of the 10th 

 of August and 13th of November, they exist as a group of bodies revolving 

 in a fixed orbit round the sun. 



(8.) 1866, January 6th, O" 59" p.m., G. M. T. 

 The meteor seen and recorded at the Eoyal Observatory, Greenwich, ap- 

 proaches nearly in time and general description to that recorded at Sunder- 

 land and at Wisbeach. It is, however, distinct ; and the radiant-region L H 

 roughly represents the general direction of the two meteors, Avhich was 

 from between Leo Minor and the Head of Leo. 



(9.) 1866, January 11th, 9" 55" p.m., Greenwich time. 

 A meteor of very extraordinary length of path, generally observed in Eng- 

 land. Eeferred to the stars at Bedford, and at Hay (S. Wales), the visible 

 path appears to have been either truly horizontal, or otherwise slightly inclined 

 a little upwards, the meteor performing its transit at a height of eighty-five 

 to ninety-five miles above the earth. The direction of flight was from 

 E.S.E. to W.N.W., on a direct line from Po-ris to Cork, hut 2)>'ohalJi/ extend- 

 ing beyond tJie limits of either of those places at the beginning and end of 

 its luminous track. Assuming the distance of the meteor from Ticehurst to 

 have been only fifty miles (instead of ninety, as iviferrcd from the other ob- 

 servations), the altitudes (as measured at Ticehurst) of 1 5° at first appear- 

 ance in the east, and 10° at disappearance in the west, give not less than 

 450 miles as the length of the meteor's course. Half as long again as this, 

 or nearly 700 miles, would not be an exaggerated statement of the extrava- 

 gant length of path of this, certainly, very remarkable meteor. It may 

 be compared in this respect to the meteor of 1758, described by Pringle, and 

 to the meteor of the ISth of August, 1783. The meteor observed at the 

 Greenwich Observatory about the same time, or two minutes earlier, is 

 distinct, and crosses the path of the other at an angle. Both meteors were 

 directed from a radiant region L H, near the confines of Leo and Hydra. 



(10,) 1866, June 20th, 10'^ 45'" a.m., Greenwich time (see Appendix II. C). 



Notwithstanding this great aerolitic meteor appeared by day and in bright 

 sunshine, exact observations of its apparent path wore obtained at Ticehiu'st 

 by the schoolmaster of the village, Mr. E. Covington, and at Boulogne, by 

 Mr. F. Galton, the Secretary of the Eoyal Geographical Society. Instru- 

 mental measurements at those jjlaces show that the meteor first came into 

 sight at a distance of fifteen miles above the town of Calais, and that when. 

 it disappeared near Boulogne (about midway between that town and the town 

 of Montreuil, in Somme) its distance from the earth was only four and a half 

 miles. The following statement which appeared in a daily journal, if correct, 

 shows the violence of the shock which was felt at Boulogne. " The vibration 

 caused by the exjilosion at that place was so great that an ill- constructed 

 scafFokliDg fell to the ground, and one man at work upon the scaffolding was 

 killed, and another seriously injured by the fall." 



Although the meteor was of unusiial dimensions, no meteorites are reported 

 to have been found. 



