80 KEPORT— 1872. 



Besides those noted, many smaller meteors passed unrecorded, about tAvo 

 thirds of the meteors counted being as bright as first, and some of the rest as 

 bright as second-magnitude stars. But few meteors were visible on the night 

 of the 9th ; and twelve were seen between 9" and 10" p.m. on the 11th. 

 Between 10" and 11" p.m. on the 11th no shooting-star was visible, although 

 the sky was then as olear as it had been during the previous hour, or on 

 the night of the 10th. A bright meteor shot downwards through Corona soon 

 after 10" 30"', and a remarkably large one close to Saturn soon after 10" 45'" 

 P.M. on the 10th. The latter meteor was pear-shaped; it lighted up the 

 objects round the observer, and burst at the end of its course like a shell. 



This meteor was also seen at Cardiff, and was described, in a communi- 

 cation to Mr. Glaisher on the meteors of that evening by Mr. G. C. Thompson, 

 as foUows : — " Aug. 10th, 10" 51'" p.m. Meteor equal to or larger than 

 Venus ; from direction of a^, o, Capricorni, downwards towards the west (right 

 hand), inclined about 60° to the horizon. Beautiful light-green hue. Near 

 the end of its course it seemed to divide into several fragments, or a small 

 cloud of sparks." It was also visible at Greenwich, where the following 

 notes of its appearance were recorded by Mr. Glaisher's staff of observers at 

 the Royal Observatory :—" Aug. 10th, 10" 51'" 15' p.m. Brighter than 

 Jupiter; pale green; duration of flight 0-7 second; length of course 5° : left 

 a fine train. Meteor pear-shaped; from 12° below, and to right of Antares, 

 fell perpendicularly." At Hawkhurst a broad red flash, like that of lightning, 

 was visible in the sky at 10" 50"" p.m. ; but the meteor itself was not seen. 

 It was, however, well seen in the neighbourhood of Hawkhurst, and a pretty 

 accurate measurement of its apparent path by objects near which it appeared 

 to pass was there obtained. It fell nearly vertically from about 20° to about 

 3" or 4° above the horizon, 60° W. from magnetic south, with no great speed ; 

 and it appeared to burst, with sparks, when at its brightest. At 11" 2"', Paris 

 time, corresponding within a few minutes with the time of this observation, a 

 meteor of twice the briUiancy of Venus, of strong whitish light, like an electric 

 spark, was also seen in the south by the observers of M. Le Vcrrier's staff at St. 

 Lo, on the French coast of the English Channel, and at Angers on the Loire. 



Of the other bright meteors seen at Portsmouth on the night of the 10th, 

 one descended towards the east, and burst at disappearance, at about 

 12" 45""; and one jjassed across Polaris at 12" 55°'. At about 1" 30"" a 

 bright green meteor appeared in the S.S.E., at an altitude of about 10°, 

 moving towards the S.S.W. Shortly afterwards a very bright one passed 

 across Pegasus towards the S.W., with an explosion at disappearance. One 

 of the last two meteors may not impossibly be identical with a fireball ob- 

 served by the observers of M. Le Verrier's staff at Trcmont at 1" 32'" 49" (Paris 

 time) on the same night, which passed from E.A. 235°, N.P.D. 29°, to B.A. 

 233°, N.P.D. 39°, and burst at disappearance with a strong red light, leaving 

 a luminous streak \ipon its course that was visible for 33 seconds. 



On each evening of the shower the numbers of the meteors were also noted, 

 under favourable conditions of the sky, by Mr. W. F. Denning, at Bristol, 

 with the following results : — 



Meteors. 



Aug, 



