210 REPORT— 1875. 



servatory in Paris ; and although it is not described as detonating, and no 

 aerolitic fall is ascribed to it in any of the published narratives of its appear- 

 ance, some determination of its real course, which appears to have been over 

 the western departments of France, must, it may he expected, be derivable 

 from the abundant materials which have thus been collected. In the follow- 

 ing communication on a large fireball of the 2nd of May last supplied to the 

 Committee by Mr. Symons, attention is directed to other accounts of the same 

 meteor as seen in Kent and elsewhere ; but of these contemporary descrip- 

 tions of its appearance the Committee has not received any additional par- 

 ticulars. 



" The meteor noticed in Kent and elsewhere at 8'' 45™ p.m. on the evening 

 of the 2nd inst. was seen to advantage by myself and two friends. It passed 

 from S. by E. to E.S.E., from an altitude of about 35° to about 22°. It 

 appeared brighter and larger than Yenus, was of a very red tint, broke into 

 fragments just before disappearing, and occupied, as seen here, not seven 

 seconds, as mentioned in the papers, but between three and four," 



" W, Clement Let," 

 " Ashby Parva Rectory, Lutterworth, May 4tb, 1875. 



" To G. J. Symons, Esq." 



Some meteors of unusual brightness observed in Essex duriDg the early 

 part of this year are thus described by Mr. H, Corder in the ' Astronomical 

 Eegister' of June 1875 (vol. xiii. p. 145):—" On March 16, at &" 23"", I 

 was startled by a bright light from behind me, and on turning round was 

 just in time to see the disappearance of what must have been a fine meteor. 

 When I saw it it was about the size of Sirius, but had been far brighter. It 

 rose perpendicularly over either /3 or o Leonis. I think the former. 



" On the 17th, about Q*" p.m., another bright meteor was seen here, but I 

 have received no details of it. 



" On April 22nd, at 11*" 19™, I saw a very beautiful one in the extreme east 

 of Virgo, faUing about 4° on each side of the equator from Corona ; and 

 though the new moon was shining a few degrees from it, the meteor formed 

 a distinct orange ring or co'rona in the highest cloud in front of it. It was 

 of a lovely pale-green hue, with a train of sparks ; and though of no appa- 

 rent size, was considerably more brilliant than Venus. 



" Another meteor, of a red colour and of short duration, brighter than 

 Jupiter, was seen in the south-west about 25° from the horizon on May 6th 

 at 7" 55™."— IT. Corder, Writtle, near Chelmsford, May 8t7i, 1875, 



The following is the note in ' Nature ' (vol. xi. p, 153) on the meteor of 

 the 17th of December last year, referred to in the present list under the 

 observation of the corresponding date : — " On Thursday, December 17th, at 

 10 p,M,, a magnificent faUing star was observed in Paris, Its track was to 

 be seen for more than a minute, A correspondent, Mr. J. H. A. Jenner, 

 writing from Lewes [Sussex], states that ' on Thursday eveniog, the 17th 

 inst., at 10,30, a very fine meteor was seen here. It travelled from north 

 to south at a seemingly very low elevation ; and though the moon was 

 shining brightly it was a very brilliant object, being several times the bright- 

 ness of Sirius, Its colour was yellowish, and it left a long, but not very 

 persistent, bluish- white train. Had the night been dark, it must have been 

 a very splendid object. The point of disappearance was hidden from my 

 sight by houses, but there was no noise attending it.' " 



