OBSERVATIONS OF LUMINOUS METEORS. 



291 



the year ending in August, 1878— continued. 



Length of 

 Path 



[20° or 25°, 

 estimated.] 



Direction or Radiant-point 



Slope of path 10° from ver- 

 tical, thus (Walbottle) : — 



10° 



If 



[Fell vertically.] 



The streak began east of, and 



was directed nearly from 



the sun's place. The me 



teor itself not seen, but 



described to the observer. 



Appearance, Remarks, &c. 



shine ; followed by a tail. 

 Jas. Elliott, ' Nature,' March 

 28th.] 



Other notes of its appearance 

 at and near Newcastle (' Na- 

 ture,' vol. xvii. p. 466), by Mr. 

 T. P. Barkas, agree with these. 



Observer or 

 Reference 



W.Clark; J.A.Woods. 

 (Communicated by 

 A. S. Herschel.) 



[A. Backhouse ; com- 

 municated by T. W. 

 Backhouse.] 



Direction of the course to 

 wards the N.E. £ N. point 

 of the horizon ; inclination 

 there about 20° (a close 

 average of two indepen 

 dent measurements). 



Fell vertically (" in a direct 

 line to the horizon "). 



[Appearance at Darlington.] 



Head conical; left a cloud 

 streak 20' broad, sharp-edged, 

 and quite straight for two 

 minutes, on nearly its whole 

 track, which then curled up 

 into separate wisps along it, 

 and grew diffuse ; no dense 

 parts in it ; nor report heard, 



Aspect a cone of fire, of elec 

 trical brilliancy, dwindling 

 behind to a tail ; the latter 

 visible some moments after 

 the nucleus had disappeared 

 behind a hill ; some sparks, 

 but no cloud streak observed. 



Nucleus pear-shaped. Grew 

 red as it approached the hori- 

 zon, where it disappeared 

 behind a cloud leaving a long 

 track of light behind it. 



J. Robertson. (Com- 

 municated by A. S, 

 Herschel.) 



. B. Hamilton. (' The 

 Scotsman,' March 

 27th), and W. Mc- 

 Dougall. (Com- 



municated by A. S 

 Herschel.) 



' The Times,' April 4th. 

 1878. 



u 2 



