OBSERVATIONS OF LUMINOUS METEOHS. 



113 



jacent fields. From Tctbury, red matter was seen falling after the body of 

 the meteor was extinguished." The point of disappearance, at 20 miles over 

 Pontypool, is very well established by several observations, and a good posi- 

 tion of the radiant-point between Sextans and Hydra is dcducible from the 

 descriptions. Many estimated durations of the meteor's flight, combined 

 with a very fair determination of its actual length, give in this case a meteor- 

 speed which is a little in excess of what would belong to a parabolic orbit ; 

 but it should be remembered that only partial views are generally obtained of 

 a meteor's motion, while more of its real length of path will often be discern- 

 ible from the streak of light, or sparks, left visible upon its course. 



Among the occasional observations of shooting-stars communicated to the 

 Committee during the year 1876 (including long lists, especially from Mr. 

 W. F. Denning, at Bristol, and from the lladcliffe Observatory, Oxford), 

 several duplicate observations of ordinary shooting-stars have been extracted. 

 The second List, above (p. 12(i), describes these observations, and it may fur- 

 nish useful conclusions of their apparent radiant-points to examine these ac- 

 cordances more critically, which the Committee hopes at some future period 

 to accomplish. To these it may be added that among the meteor-paths 

 noted in the list of twice-recorded tracks, one described at Writtle (Chelms- 

 ford), and at Sunderland at about 10 o'clock p.m., on August 10, 1876, cor- 

 responds to that of a meteor observed at Bristol simultaneously (at 9 h 54 m ) 

 by Mr. Denning, as described in the list of large meteors presented with last 

 year's Report. 



The following double observation (and a real path deduced from it) was 

 also obtained, as Mr. Denning has informed the Committee, from his point of 

 view at Bristol, and from Mr. H. Corder's at Writtle, of a fine meteor well 

 situated for simultaneous observation between them, which appeared on the 

 30th of May last (1877), at ll h 26 m p.m., as recorded at each station : — 



was looking 



Mr. Corder adds, " I never mapped one much better, as I 

 exactly at its position when it appeared." Mr. Denning was also watching 

 for meteors, looking eastward towards Chelmsford, so as to have this meteor 

 when it appeared in his full view. The common radiant-point obtained from 

 a projection of these paths is near I Cassiopeia), at 20°, +58°; a position for 

 the end of May and beginning of June which has not yet been recognized 

 in any existing radiant-lists. Mr. J. E. Clark, of York, has calculated the 

 height and real path of the meteor, which he found to be from ] 01 miles over 



