203 REPORT — 1875. 



Tipton. — October 11th, &" 55"". '-'Meteor seen as a brilliant white body 

 of the size of a 68-lb. shot. It started a little to the right of the North 

 Star, taking a downward and rapid flight ; then changing its course in an 

 upward curve, in the direction of the Pleiades, with a much slower motion, 

 lighting up the neighbourhood, and leaving a luminous train throughout its 

 course, visible 6 minutes." — Daily Post. 



A meteor similar to the one described above was observed at almost the 

 same time at Leeds, near Maidstone, Kent. " At the end of its flight it ex- 

 ploded with a loud noise, so loud that the informant described it as louder 

 than the loudest thunder he ever heard."- — Birmingham Daily Post. 



Asserted meteor shower Oct. 15, " between 12 p.m. and 1 a.m. ; meteors at 

 the rate of fifty per minute at least." — Enylish Mechanic, Oct. 23, page 158, 

 letter 20374. 



" The inhabitants of Valparaiso were in a terrible state of alarm on the 

 14th ultimo [November 1874]. A bright star and full moon appeared at 

 middle day, notwithstanding the fact that the sun was shining brightly at 

 the time. The ignorant amongst the populace thought that an earthquake 

 was about to take place. Nothing of the sort, however, occurred." — Bir- 

 mingham Local Newspaper, Dec. 1874. 



" Large meteors were seen during the recent clear nights in diflPerent 

 places in France — at Havre on the 12th, and at Paris on the 10th. The 

 Paris meteor was seen at two o'clock in the morning; the direction was not 

 specified, but the colour was green. The Boulevard St. Michel appeared as 

 if it were illuminated. The Havre meteor was very large, going with an 

 immense velocity from S.E. to N.W." — Nature, April 22nd, 1875. 



" A beautiful meteor was seen at Tottenham Lock on June 3rd, at 

 8.40 P.M., rather to the east of south, about 30° from the horizon. This is 

 very close to Spica." — English Mechanic, June 11th, page 328, no. 533. 



" At Clapton a splendid meteor was observed at 8.39 p.m. on June 3rd, 

 due south, slow speed, taking a south-westerly course. Meteor brilliant, whiter 

 and much brighter than Jupiter, which looked faint in comparison." — English 

 Mechanic, June 11th, page 328. 



" Great detonating meteor seen at Melbourne, Ajwil 14th, 1875 (see the 

 note below)"*.— IF. //. W. 



To the above list of newspaper accounts of large meteors collected by Mr. 

 Wood may be added the following two accounts in ' Nature ' of Oct. 15th, 

 1874 (vol. X. p. 482), of the remarkable fireball of October 11th, last year. 

 A singularity in the meteor's motion, with slow speed on a deflected course 

 at last, appears to have been observed both at Tipton (as above) and at 

 Eainhill ; but it is doubtful if motions of the persistent streak, left for some 

 minutes in a bright patch at the point where the meteor disappeared, may not 

 account for the very singular change of motion there, which the nucleus 

 itself, in two of these observations, is described to have presented. 



" Bright Meteors. 



" At 8.55 this evening a party of six observed a meteor in the constella- 

 tion Aries, or below it, which emitted light sufiicient to cast a bright gleam 

 on the neighbouring trees. The body of the meteor shot rapidly along a 



* Communicated by Mr.W. H. Wood. — A paragraph from ' The Illustrated Australian 

 News' of May 17th, 1875, is added by Mr. Wood, the substance of which, relating also 

 to an engraving of the meteor which accompanies the original notice in the Australian 

 iournal, is included in Dr. Flight's review of recent aerolitic meteors (Meteorites, Part I.) 

 in the concluding Appendix of this Report. 



