OBSERVATIONS OF LUMINOUS METEORS. 



283 



the year ending in August, 1878 — continued. 



Length of 

 Path 



Fell some 

 degrees. 



Direction or Radiant-point 



[Radiant from these two ob 

 servations in R.A. 35°, and 

 Decl. between + 5° and + 

 35°, approximately.] 



Moving towards the East 



Length of 

 streak 

 scarcely A° 



Conformable to a radiant 

 point at 77°+ 31° of 5 

 meteors seen on the same 

 evening. 



Fell quite vertically till hid 

 by a cloud-bank at a point 

 § (7? Ursae majoris, Arcturus), 

 as in the sketch. [The me 

 teorat 5 h p.m.,Oct. 18th(see 

 Nov. 23rd, Note to the 

 Hertford account) though 

 quite similar, was yet, no 

 doubt, a separate and ear- 

 lier meteor.] 



Streak directed towards | 

 Draconis ; streak and the 

 meteor's course both fore- 

 shortened near the radiant 

 point. 



20° 



21° 

 14° 



Appearance, Remarks, kc. 



This and the next meteor are 

 identical, and the first of more 

 than one seen on the same 

 night in France. 



Burst with sparks of various 

 colours. 



Left a streak 4° long, visible for 

 3 seconds. 



Observer or 

 Reference 



M. Hugon. ' Bulletin 

 de l'Association 

 Scientifique de 

 France,' vol. xxi. 

 p. 224, Jan. 6th, 1878 



P. Gustin. Roid. 



W. F. Denning. 



W. Watkins Old. 

 (Communicated by 

 "W. F. Denning.) 



Radiant R s in Musca. [Oct 

 31st— Nov. 1st, 1877, Den- 

 ning; 46°+ 26°.] 



? a Leonid ; too swift for a 

 Taurid. [Muscid ; same 

 radiant, R 3 , as the last me- 

 teor.] 



Leonid. [Directed nearly 

 from A, k and tj Leonis.] 



Directed from e Aquilae. 

 [From unknown radiant in 

 Aquila or Aquarius (?).] 



Ralph Copeland. ' 

 ture,' vol. xvii 

 29. 



Na- 



The streak curved gradually 

 northwards, and drifted for 8 

 minutes until it lay almost 

 horizontal (see the sketch) ; 

 clouds then rising upwards 

 obscured it. [The length of 

 the ' spear ' or ' comet ' (end 

 cloud and streak together) at 

 Dublin, was ' 5 lunar diame- 

 ters,' and its altitude above 

 the horizon there 'about 50°.' 

 See discussion of the meteor's 

 real course in this Appendix.] 



Left a short crooked streak on 

 its track for 10 seconds 

 Though not itself visible to 

 him directly, the meteor's 

 flash was yet seen by Mr 

 Lohse. 



Its course and appearance were 

 obscured by clouds. 



Anterior half of nucleus ruby 

 red ; tail white, 15° long. 



Left a blue or green streak on 

 nearly its whole course for 2 

 seconds ; not so bright com 

 pared to the head as those of 

 the Leonids. 



Left no streak. Fifteen other!G. A. Walpole, ' Na 

 meteors were noted on the tural History Jour- 

 same night. nal,' vol. i, p. 152, 



Dec. 15th, 1877. 



Ended with a flash, and with ajT. W. Backhouse, 

 green streak there for 3i 

 seconds. 



Brightest in mid-course ; faded Id 

 gradually ; left no streak. 



Communicated by G. 



J. Symons. 

 W. H. Wood. 



T. W. Backhouse. 



