OBSERVATIONS OF LUMINOUS METEORS. 101 



growing intensity in the progress of the shower, the numbers of the meteors 

 recoi'ded in the successive half-hours until midnight being 3, 5, and 8. 



At Tooting, near London, the sky was also very clear on the evening of 

 the 2nd ; and Mr. H. W. Jackson noted the appearances of nineteen meteors 

 between 10'' and 11'' p.m., the tracks of six of which were very accurately 

 laid down upon a map. Eight meteors were observed ; and the paths of two 

 of them were mapped between 11" and 11'' 15"", and only two meteors were 

 visible in the following 15'" until 11" 30"° v.u. The whole number of meteors 

 seen by one observer in 1" 30"' was 29. A bright meteor (described 

 in the above list), whose course was exactly conformable to the usual radiant- 

 point of 2nd of January shooting-stars, was also recorded by Mr. Jackson on 

 the night of the 31st of December. Although proceeding generally from 

 the direction of the radiant-region between Bootes and Draco, no definite 

 centre of divergence was distinguishable among the meteor-tracks recorded 

 at Tooting, which appear to have belonged to outlying members of the 

 group; and one of the eight meteors mapped was unconformable to the 

 general radiant-point of the shower. These meteors appeared for the most part 

 white ; they were generally bright, and left faint streaks upon their course, 

 which remained visible upon the track of one of the brightest 'for about one 

 second. A flash like lightning was observed at 10" 16'" p.m., and two 

 similar flashes were noticed between lO*" 16™ and 11" p.m. 



At the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, the apparent paths and appear- 

 ances of fifteen meteors were registered between 10" 12'" and 11" 17"^, of 

 which four only were less bright than stars of the first magnitude, in a watch 

 partly kept by one and partly by two observers. They were mostly bluish, 

 but some yellowish white, and described apparent courses of from 10° to 40° 

 in length, in one or two seconds of time. Ten of the meteors recorded in the 

 list left more or less faint persistent streaks of light upon their course. Two 

 or three of the meteors whose apparent paths were tlius registered appear to 

 have been unconformable to the general radiant-point, and the tracks of the 

 remainder prolonged backwards present a sj^ace of somewhat diffuse radiation 

 in the region about Quadrans and the tail-stars of Ursa Major. 



The sky was also free from clouds at Hawkhurst on the night of the 2nd, 

 and a watch for the January shower was kept from 11" 20'" until midnight. 

 Fourteen meteors were noted in this interval, and the paths of ten were satis- 

 factorily observed, and were drawn upon a map. All were directed from the 

 neighbourhood of the radiant-point in Quadrans ; and the backward pro- 

 longation of their tracks presents a region of somewhat diff'use radiation, 

 extending over an area about 25° in diameter, having an apparent principal 

 centre of intersections at a point in about E,. A. 220°, N. Dec!. 47°. The 

 meteors seen were principally of the first and second magnitudes, white, 

 shooting across the sky in long courses, with moderately slow speed ; and 

 about half of their number left a slight persistent streak of light on the whole 

 or on a part of their course. Several smaller meteors passed unrecorded, 

 and the hourly numbers of the meteors seen was not less than twenty for 

 two observers. 



At Birmingham the sky was very clear on the night of the 2nd ; the 

 courses of fifteen or sixteen meteors were mapped ; and the appearances of 

 many more were noted by Mr. Wood during the hour between 10'' 15™ and 

 11" 15"" P.M. At 10" 17'" a flash like that of distant lightning (apparently 

 the same as that recorded by Mr. Jackson near London, and if so, probably 

 meteoric) was seen upon the south horizon during an interval of twenty 

 minutes after 10 o'clock, in which no shooting-stars were visible. At 



