200 REPORT — 1875. 



April last, which if not aerolitic'was yet of the largest class, and detonated 

 ■with a violent explosion. Further remarks in the same Appendix describe 

 recent researches on meteorites, and some new links which they establish 

 between aerolites and terrestrial rocks. 



In England no detonating meteor has been recorded since the last Report ; 

 and the brightest meteor that was observed occurred on the 1st of Sep- 

 tember last, taking its course over the north of England or Scotland, where 

 clouded skies must have prevailed, as its flash was like that of lightning even 

 in Cornwall, where, as in Lancashire, its bright luminous streak remained 

 visible, at no great apparent altitude, among the northern stars of the Great 

 Bear. Other bright meteors occurred also on the 2nd and 16th of September, 

 on the 11th of October, on the 17th of December, and subsequently on the 

 9th of March, 12th of April, and 2nd and 4th of May in this year, of several 

 of which duplicate observations are recorded in the lists of the first two 

 Appendices of this Rejiort. A meteor burst with a loud detonation over Paris 

 and its neighbourhood on the 10th of February last, which was of great size 

 and brilliancy, and left a cloud-like streak of light on its track for more than 

 half an hour. No duplicate observation of it was obtained in England ; but 

 from the numerous French descriptions of its appearance, its real path and 

 height may be expected to have formed at the present meeting in Nantes of 

 the French Scientific Association a subject of examination and discussion. 

 Another fireball, according to French scientific journals, fell at Orleans on 

 the 9th of March, and of this two good observations appear to have been 

 obtained in England (in London and in Essex), which may assist to determine 

 its real height. 



During the annual meteor-showers of the past year very unfavourable 

 weather generally prevailed for recording meteor-tracks, and few meteors 

 were seen on those nights when the usual expectations of their appearance 

 were entertained. On the 19th of October and 12th of December, 1874, and 

 on the 19th-21st of April, 1875, the annual star-showers of those dates 

 were scarcely perceptible, or were represented by so few conformable meteors 

 as to make the scarcity of the October, December, and April star-showers 

 during the past year a marked feature of their periodical disjilay, and no 

 appearance of the January meteors could be observed on account of obstinately 

 cloudy skies. The August star-showers of 1874 and 1875 were, however, of 

 great brilliancy, and afi'orded a great number of excellent observations. 

 Duplicate descriptions of some of the meteors were obtained, and the radiant- 

 point was noted, its position appearing to have been this year more con- 

 fined to the normal place near r/ Persei than it had been recently observed. 

 Descriptions of these meteor-showers are added in the third Appendix of 

 this Keport. 



A thorough examination of all the observations collected by the Committee 

 since the publication of the Meteor Atlas in 1867, with the \'iew of extending 

 and correcting the list of general and occasional meteor-showers which it 

 embraced, from the best data furnished by recent observations, has been con- 

 tinued with satisfactory results under the care and direction of Mr. Greg ; 

 and the projection of all these useful materials is now nearly completed and 

 exhibited on maps. A supplementary Table of radiant-points contained in the 

 pages of this Report represents the results of his examination ; and a number 

 of interesting consequences are drawn from them of the position and identity 

 of some star-showers, which had been a subject hitherto of questions and 

 discussions. 



The scattered radiant-region belonging to the August meteors in Cas- 



