OBSERVATIONS OF LUMINOUS METEORS. 

 THE YEAR ENDING IN AUGUST, 1878 — continued. 



293 



Length of 

 Path 



17° 



24° while in 

 sight. 



Almost due 

 north, de 

 scending 

 obliquely, 

 E. to W., 

 from about 

 alt. 60° to 

 alt, 15°.) 



From a great 

 alt,, a little 

 S. of .West, 

 to a point of 

 the horizon 



Direction or Radiant-point 



[Radiant-point, by a projec- 

 tion of the Birmingham 

 and Leicester tracks, 177° 

 + 46°, in Ursa Major.] 



Fell almost perpendicularly ; 

 course slightly zigzag. 



N.W. to S.E. 



Fell quite vertically ; azi 

 muth 36° W. of true N. by 

 a compass, agreeing with 

 the azimuth by Capella. 



URSA 

 MAJOR 



A • 



CEMINI 



\ .4 

 • ex 



AURICA 



Appearance, Remarks. &c. 



Light of the meteor like that of 

 full moon overhead. Burst 

 into fragments at last. 



Nucleus with short tail; left 

 no streak. Three minutes 

 after disappearance a report 

 like distant thunder followed 

 from its direction. 



Soon after sunset; in strong 



daylight. 

 Twilight still very bright and 



no stars visible. 



Noted (through window panes) 

 by several observers called in 

 time to see it. No streak 

 or sparks; but split at last 

 into two, one fragment \° 

 behind the other, when both 

 went out, or passed behind 

 low clouds. 



Nucleus bright white, even in 

 the northern twilight; with 

 a short reddish tail (followed 

 by a tail 3° long., which 

 ceased when the meteor broke, 

 near the end of its course 

 into several pieces, and soon 

 after disappeared). 



Nucleus with not much tail, 

 double headed (see the 

 sketch) ; let fall a piece like 

 a red-hot cinder just before 

 going out, or passing behindl 



Observer or 

 Reference 



T. Barclay. ' Natural 

 History Journal,' 

 vol. ii. p. 65, June, 

 1878. 



F. T. Mott. ' Nature,' 

 vol. xvii. p. 466. 



A. Greg. (Communi- 

 cated by R. P. Greg.) 

 Derbyshire Adver 

 tiser and Journal,' 

 May 17th, 1878. 



W. T.'Jackson. (Com- 

 municated by J. E 

 Clark.) 



A. Rowntree ; com 

 municated by J. E. 

 Clark (correspon- 

 dent of ' Nature,' 

 vol. xviii, p. 77, May 

 16, 1878). 



J. T. Sewell. (Com 

 municated by J. E. 

 Clark.) (H. S. M. 

 the 'Yorkshire Post,' 

 May 15th, 1878.) 



