OBSKBVATIONS OF LUxMINOUS METEORS. 387 



The sky was almost everywhere overcast on the nights of the 18th to 20th 

 of October, 1872, and the moon shone brightly, so that no useful observations 

 of the October meteors on this occasion of their annual return could be 

 obtained, The condition of the sky was equally unfavourable on the annual 

 date of the November shower of Leonids ; and among the few meteors seen 

 in this interval, the smaU groujjs noted by Mr. Backhouse at Sunderland on 

 the night of the 30th of October, and by Captain Jupman at Portsmouth on 

 the night of the 1st of November*, are the only indications reported to the 

 Committee of meteors during the mouths of September to November having 

 been more than ordinarily abundant on any night before the appearance in 

 the latter month of the bright display of shooting-stars connected with the 

 recent periodic approach of Biela's comet to the earth. 



The instructions communicated by the Committee to the observers of these 

 meteoric showers included directions to record any unusual abundance of 

 meteors observable during the last week from the 23rd to 30th of November, 

 and to note their radiant-point. The anticipated watch was regarded by all 

 the observers with attentive interest ; and the first symptoms of an approaching 

 frequency of meteors was reported by Mr. Jackson of Tooting (Surrey), who, 

 observing at Hyde Park in London on the evening of the 24th of November, 

 in four 10"' intervals between 7^ 30™ and 9^ 15™ p.m., saw four meteors as 

 bright as first -magnitude stars, all diverging from the expected direction of 

 the Andromedes or Biela's comet meteors. Between 11'' 20" and 12'' 40"" 

 on the night of the 26th of November, the sky being equally clear and star- 

 light, no shooting-star was visible in an equally attentive watch. 



The occurrence of a distinct shower of the Andromedes on the night of 

 the 24th of November, 1872, was well proved by the observations of them 

 obtained in America (' American Journal of Science,' 3rd ser. vol. v, p. 53, 

 Jan. 1873). They were first seen by Mr. T. Hadley, Prof. Twining, and 

 Prof. Newton at Newhaven between half-past seven o'clock and midnight on 

 that night, when their number was about forty per hour for one observer. 

 Several of their tracks were mapped, and the position of their radiant-point 

 was estimated by Prof. Newton, at the time, as being two or three degrees north 

 of the star y Andromedaef- They were also noticed by Mr. Gumniex'e, of 

 Bethlehem, Pa., on the same night. On the night of the 25th the sky was 

 more obscured by clouds ; but in comparison with the unconformable meteors 

 visible at the same time, the frequency of the Andromedes appeared to be 

 scarcely more than a third of what it had been on the previous night. 

 During the night of the 26th the sky was quite overcast. 



A correspondent of ' The Field ' newspaper of January 25th, 1873, Mr. 

 E. L. Layard, adds at the end of an animated description of the Biela comet- 

 shower, as observed in his vicinity at Para in Brazil, " on the night of the 

 26th of November [i. e. the 27th, European style] one of my servants 

 informs me she saw an equally fine display on the 23rd inst." This notice 

 of the earlier shower in South America evidently relates to the same border- 

 stream of the Andromedes, observed also by Mr. Maxwell ICaU (' Nature ', 



* As described in Appendix I. (Meteors doubly observed, November 3rd, 1872), viz. 

 three radiant-pomts by Mr. Backhouse on October 30th, at 0°,+55° (4 meteors) ; at y, \ 

 Ceti (about 40^, -|-6°, eight or ten meteors) ; and perhaps a third radiant-point at £ Piscium 

 of a few meteors not conforuiable to the two former points : and lastly a distinct radiant- 

 point of ten pretty bright meteors seen in about 40 minutes on the night of November 1st, 

 and of three others seen in about the same time on the night of November 3rd, at 56°, 

 4-24°, notified to the Committee by Captain Tupman. 



t A radiant-point of some fainter and more rapid meteors was at the same time 

 noticed in the eastern sky, perhaps in the neighbourhood of Orion. 



2 c 2 



