346 REPORT—1874. 
scope towards it, the bright lines of sodium and magnesium, and two lines 
in the red and two in the green, were found by Herr yon Konkoly to be 
visible in its fading light. The last four lines, when compared with several 
Geissler tubes, were found to be absolutely coincident with those contained 
in the vacuum spectrum of coal-gas (‘‘ womit die Strassen beleuchtet wer- 
den,”—or ‘lighting ”-gas, evidently misprinted ‘lightning”-gas in the 
description in the ‘Monthly Notices’), The comparison occupied eleven 
minutes, at the end of which time the carbon lines could no longer be distin- 
guished; but the bands of magnesium were still very finely visible with the 
meteor-spectroscope. Herr von Konkoly adds that accounts of the meteor’s 
path were being collected by Prof. Galle, of Breslau; but that hitherto suffi- 
ciently accurate descriptions had not been obtained to enable its real path to 
be determined. 
The following are descriptions of some memoirs and discussions that have 
recently been published on the appearances of the August and other meteoric 
star-showers of the last few years. 
The August Perseids, 1873. (Italian Observations.) 
I. Prof. Serpieri, of Urbino, at the meeting of the Royal Lombard Insti- 
tution of Science, held 8th January, 1874, read a paper on the Perseids of 
August 1873, from which we condense the following brief analysis concerning 
the radiant-points of that shower. Prof. Serpieri and three assistants, in 
spite of nearly full moonlight, observed 267 meteors from the 8th to 
the 15th August, of which 139 were true Perseids whose positions were 
duly mapped on a chart by Prof. Lorenzoni. The time of maximum for 
the shower was not determined, owing to clouds on the 10th August. 
Serpieri considers that there are two principal radiants for the Perseids, 
or rather two principal axes of radiation crossing each other obliquely and 
having at the same time a nearly common centre. The one which he calls the 
“old” radiant, as determined (1847-1867) by Greg and Herschel in their 
meteor atlas, and especially by Prof. A. 8. Herschel in 1868, has its position 
from 
Pri 2f 74:1 anenee SERRE ce 48° 56',+49° 26' 
a's Cabsidnelin.s, . hese: 26° 27" 463° 5! | 44°, + 56° mean centre, 1863, 
and the “‘ new ” radiant (first determined by Prof. Newton, of America, and 
also confirmed by Serpieri himself) from 
1058 Camelopardi ......... 48° 30',+59° 30’ ‘ 
to Nebula Persei.........000.- 32° 30", +56° 30’ } 44°, +559 -tnean eentte, 
Out of the 189 Perseids mapped for August, 1873, exactly half, or 87, are 
considered by Prof. Serpieri to answer the conditions as belonging to each of 
these two radiants. The idea entertained by Serpieri appears to be that 
there has in recent years (from about the year 1867) been an evident in- 
crease in the proportion of meteors affecting the “new” radiant, or radiant- 
axis, as compared with former years (from about 1847 to 1867, according 
to the English observations). The mean central points for both are apparently 
very nearly the same; but the meteors affect for the two radiants apparently 
a somewhat different range of flights, according to the mode in which Prof. 
Serpieri has analyzed their distribution in connexion with his definition of 
the radiant-regions. He considers that the meteor-flights appertaining to 
the “ older ” English radiant have a tendency to a maximum fan-like stream 
from & Persei towards that part of the heavens situate between Corona and 
Delphinus ; whilst the tendency of the maximum streams from nearly the 
