A CATALOGUE OF OBSERVATIONS OF LUMINOUS METEORS. 405 



liiirst. " About 11'' 30", a dull yeUow meteor, which, grew to a round disk, 

 moved on a curved course (see fig.), nearly horizontally from Ursa Minor 

 to a point due west, leaving a slight train. The nucleus lasted three seconds, 

 and continued after the train had faded aivai/." 



Mr. Greg observed, at Manchester : — " IS'early aU the meteors showed either 

 as simply phosphorescent or lance-like lines, or began as such. But in the 

 case of the larger ones, with disks of 2' or upwards, the nuclei seemed 

 finally to emerge from, or to shake off, or lose the phosphorescence, for the 

 space of a few degrees and then vanish." 



Mr. C. Grover, in his observations of the ISTovember meteoric shower at 

 Chesham, Bucks, reports that, " in nearly every instance, the head ceased to 

 emit a train before it vanished, consequent!)/ the head tvas clearly jparted from 

 the train just before vanishing." 



The same was noticed by M. Goulier in the ' Comptes Eendus ' for De- 

 cember 1866, whoso observation of the position of the radiant-point at 

 Metz (in the Moselle) is cited above. "A remarkable peculiarity of the 

 meteors was, that the streaks were shorter than the entire length of their 

 course, the nucleus shooting ahead of the train for some sjiace without emit- 

 ting the phosphorescent light of the streak." 



Contortions of the Trains. — The large meteor recorded by Mr. H. S. Heinec- 

 ken at Sidmouth, at l** 8"" 9' (see Catalogue), left a train which was very 

 conspiciious for six minutes, and remained visible for at least ten minutes. 



At first the train was straight, but when the terminations faded, the 

 central portion became cur^-ed, and folded back in a serpent-like form upon 

 itself. The figure is a sketch of its appearance, from a tinted drawing by 





Mr. Hutchinson. It afterwards became brilliantly nebulous, more circular 

 and compact, and retrograded slowly along the course of the meteor towards 

 the east. 



In the -Monthly Notices' of the EoyalAstronomicalSociety(vol.xsvii.p.53), 

 Mr. G. Yenables draws attention to the fact that, in some instances of trains 

 which continued for a length of time, the deflection which occurred was 

 " not curved but rigid, like a stiff stick broken in the middle." 



Telescopic Observations of the Meteors. 

 At Wishcach, Cambridgeshire. — Mr. S. H. MiUer reports : — " After the dis- 



Buration JJuration. 



30 Sees ■ 40^ec.9 



appearance of the head, the trains contracted and curled up, and I was able 



