383 REPORT— 1873. 



during daytime of the 11th ; and by comparing together all the descriptions. 

 Padre Denza regarded it as occurring between 2^ and S'' a.m. on the 11th, 

 irrespective of the effect of the rising moon in greatly diminishing the 

 number of the meteors visible after that hour. A pecuharity of many of 

 the brightest meteors was observed that they disappeared, and then again 

 reappeared further on upon their course. The number of sporadic meteors 

 ■was also greater than usual, being about one third of the whole number seen 

 at Velletri in place of one fourth part, as was recorded in August 1869. The 

 horary numbers of the shower at Velletri on the 11th of August, 1871, were 

 greater than on the corresponding night (with an equally clear sky) in the 

 year 1869, in the proportion of 102-2 to 67-5. The reduction of all the obser- 

 Tations made for the determination of the radiant-point is being undertaken 

 by Prof. Schiaparelli, to whom all the observations were forwarded, at Milan. 



The November Shower in 1871. — In the same journal of Italian observations 

 for December 1871 and January 1873, a few notices of observations of the 

 November shower in 1871 at Italian stations are described. The sky was in 

 general overcast, or nearly so, and few extensive watches could be kept. It 

 was, however, found in Italy, as in England in that year, that the number of 

 meteors from Leo seen on the nights of the 12th and 13th scarcely exceeded 

 that of the unconformable meteors seen on the same nights. The time of 

 central passage of the earth through the stream on the morning of the 15th 

 (see the last volume of these Reports, p. 96) appears to have escaped obser- 

 vation at the Italian stations, the sky on that morning having been every- 

 where overcast. 



Meteor-shower of August 7th-12t7i, 1872.---Observations of this shower were 

 communicated to the Committee from most of the observers usually recording 

 their notes of such phenomena for the British Association, by the staff of 

 Mr. Glaisher's observers at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, and by Pro- 

 fessor Main's assistants at the Radcliffe Observatory at Oxford. The sky 

 was completely overcast, with wind and heavy rain, on the night of the 9th 

 of August ; but with exception of this interruption a long list of observations 

 of the shower was recorded on the other nights of its duration. The accom- 

 panying Table shows that the apparent paths of 447 meteors were mapped, 

 of which nearly the same numbers were seen on the nights of the 10th and 

 11th by about the same numbers of observers watching for nearly the same 

 time, in equally favourable conditions of the sky. Many of the shooting- 

 stars were very bright, but the shower was not so conspicuous in the number 

 of bolides, and of other meteors of all descriptions, as it was in the previous 

 year. About twenty-five of the meteors seen were doubly or triply recorded 

 by observers at distant stations, enabling their real paths to be computed, 

 and a list of these simultaneous observations wUl be found in the foregoing 

 catalogue of such residts. The whole of the recorded tracks have been more 

 or less completely projected upon graphic charts ; but it has not yet been 

 found possible to determine very clearly the predominating centre of emana- 

 tion, or the general limits of radiation of the shower from the miscellaneous 

 groups of evidence which so many valuable independent observations wiU 

 in the sequel afford. For this purpose a thorough sorting of all the recorded 

 tracks among the known radiant-points of the epoch wUl be required, for 

 which sufficient time has not yet been at the disposal of the Committee. 



Meteor-showers of September-November, 1872. — On the nights of the 5th 

 to 9th of September, 1872, Mr. Clark recorded the paths of several shooting- 

 stars at York, radiating chiefly from Cygnus and Andromeda, the greatest 

 number mapped being ten per hour on the night of September 8th. 



