120 KEPOET— 1879. 



[Continued from page 91.] 

 the snow-clouds in the north-east for some seconds before the nucleus 

 could be distinguished, exactly resembling the light of the moon rising 

 behind the clouds in that direction. 



It may therefore be concluded that the meteor passed about 40 miles 

 over a point just south of Whitby and about 20 miles nearly over, but one 

 or two miles north of York, to a point not more than six or eight miles 

 above the earth, about midway between Leeds and Selby. The direction 

 of this path is from 39° E. of N., alt. 32°, which at the time of the 

 meteor's appearance corresponds to a celestial place of the computed 

 radiant-point at 310° + 55°, near x Cephei, a position, in February or 

 March, of which no morning observations hitherto appear to have been 

 obtained. The radiants of the comets 1854 IV. (Weiss, Feb. 13, 

 304° + 37°-5), and 1845 I. (Feb. 25, 309° + 30°-5), appear also to be too 

 distant from this place to be compatible with the fireball observations. 



Remarks on Double Observations of Large Meteors recorded in the 

 Supplementary List. 



1858, August 13, 6 h 39 m p.m. Fireball over the English Channel- 

 According to the observation of Mr. Pope Hennessey in London (these 

 Reports, vol. for 1858, p. 152), a fireball exactly similar to that described 

 near Ryde passed in two seconds from S.S.E., alt. 25°, to S.S.W., alt. 12°. 

 At Ryde it travelled in 3-5 seconds from about E.S.E., alt. 15°, to S.S.E., 

 alt. 20°. The lines of bearing intersect for the commencement about 20 

 miles off the French coast at Dieppe, 95 miles from both Ryde and Lon- 

 don ; and for the end point about half-way between Cherbourg and 

 Brighton, 95 miles from London and 35 miles from Ryde. Comparing 

 together the altitudes and distances at which the first and last points 

 respectively of the meteor's course were observed from the two places, it 

 will be seen that there is no exact agreement, the altitudes at the com- 

 mencement being 25° and 15° at the same distance, 95 miles, from London 

 and Ryde, while those of the end point are 12° and 20°, instead of about 

 8° and 20°, corresponding to the distances of 95 and 35 miles from Lon- 

 don and from Ryde. In order to remove the discrepancy, the altitudes at 

 first appearance cannot be retained without an enormous rotation north- 

 wards of both of the lines of sight of the meteor's starting point. It is 

 true that very small departures of the two end point bearings from their 

 assigned directions, by removing the end point southwards, would bring 

 the final altitudes into good agreement. But it seems more probable that 

 both the altitudes (12° and 25°) at London are as usual a little overrated, 

 and if they are diminished by a third part, to 8° and 17°, their agreement 

 with the altitudes observed at Ryde is then extremely close. The con- 

 cluded heights are then 28 miles over the first and 12 miles over the last 

 of the two points of intersection, and the length of path is 75 miles directed 

 from an altitude of about 12° nearly due east. The correction which this 

 provisional path seems to require most urgently is increase of height, 

 especially at the end point. It would, in this case, be more nearly hori- 

 zontal, and at the same time directed somewhat towards the south of 

 west, or from somewhat north of east. The provisional radiant point on 

 this supposition was about 5° north of east, alt. 5° ; and of this origin of 

 its flight, as a fairly probable direction, the corresponding celestial place 



