OBSERVATIONS OF LUMINOUS METEORS. 163 



79 wore seen in 13g hours before midnight, and 133, or nearly double the 

 number, in 12 hours of observation after midnight. Since November last 

 Mr. Denning has continued his early morning observations of shooting-stars 

 at Bristol, whenever the absence of the moon and of overcast and tempestuous 

 Weather, which were especially prevalent during manymonths at the beginning 

 of this year, would permit him to persue them with success. 



The best-known meteor-shower in November, to which Mr. Denning's and 

 Mr. Corder's attention was specially directed by the abundance and by the 

 large size and brightness of its meteors, was that of the ' Taurids,' of whose 

 epoch and radiant-point, in the early part of November, many very accordant 

 accounts have already been given in different observers' catalogues of meteor- 

 showers. Two or three different centres of divergence of these meteors, 

 besidos the double focus principally assigned to them (at 51°, +13°, and 56°, 

 +21°, in the early part of November) in Captain Tupman's list, appear to 

 exist simultaneosly with this; and the result of Mr. Corder's and Mr. 

 Denning's observations is to trace the continuation of a shower, with nearly 

 this general region of divergence, for several weeks in October and November, 

 presenting various dates of maxima and subordinate radiant-points belonging 

 apparently to its group, followed by another shower of Taurids towards 

 December, the position of whose radiant-point is sensibly different from that 

 of the already known Taurids of the first few weeks in November. The 

 earliest symptoms of the return of these closely allied Taurid showers wore 

 noticed on tho 13th and 16th of October, by Mr. Corder, producing fine 

 orange-coloured meteors from the direction of ft Tauri (79°, +28°; Mr. 

 Denning's position for October 21-29 was at 61°, +18°). Between the 7th 

 and 16th of November the position of the radiant-point appeared to Mr. 

 Corder to lie sometimes on the S.W. and sometimes on the N.E. side of 

 the Pleiades, between the usually assigned position (52°, +22°, from 19 

 meteors between November 7th and 10th) and a point near \f, Tauri (at 

 58°, +28°,_ from 8 meteors on November 16th and 17th). Somewhat more 

 distant points were found at 



60° +2(5° Nov. 9-10 3 meteors, 



63+9 „ 16-17 6 meteors (pretty good position), 



67 +26 „ 16-17 4 meteors (with short courses), 



69 +20 „ 16-17 6 meteors (good position), 



62 +22 „ 21 3 meteors, 



showing an apparent tendency of the radiant-point to advance in right as- 

 cension towards the middle of the month, without at the same time ever 

 departing very far from the position which it occupies in the early days of 

 November. Kadiants of five or six meteors each were also noted near ft Persei 

 (44°, +37°), x Andromedae (24°, +43°, one at least of which seemed to be a 

 member of the Bielan comet shower), and a Auriga? (75°, +45°), which are 

 distinct, but not always very easily distinguished meteor-systems, from the 

 Taurus shower. 



Besides the position already noticed in October, Mr. Denning found the 

 position of the ' Taurid ' radiant-point, from 19 meteors recorded in November, 

 to be at 58°, +16°, and 62°, + 22°-5. Seven of these meteors (from the first 

 point) were seen on the morning of the 8th, and nine meteors (from the 

 second point) on the morning of the 20th of November. They formed an ex- 

 ceedingly fine shower on the latter morning, and the position of the radiant- 

 point on that morning was obtained with unusual exactness. Mr. Denning 

 regards the three positions which he observed from October 21st to the end of 

 November as all belonging to a continuous shower (at 60°, + 19°), which, in 



m2 



