OBSERVATIONS OF LUMINOUS METEORS. 315 



extracted from an original list of 162 meteor showers seen in the year 

 1877 ; which was published in March, 1878, by Mr. Denning, in the 

 ' Monthly Notices ' of the Royal Astronomical Society (vol. xxxviii., 

 p. 305). The present list includes also some notes of the same, and of 

 later showers in the year 1878, which Mr. Denning obligingly communi- 

 cated to the committee. Of the August Perseids, in 1877, some other 

 descriptions having been received, a short account of the additional 

 observations since collected is here presented to complete the brief notice 

 of that shower which was given in last year's Report. 



Meteor shower of August, 1877.— Observations at York, by Mr. 

 J. E. Clark. The sky was often cloudy on the 9th, and watch was only 

 kept for twenty minutes, in which ten meteors were seen, six of which 

 were Perseids. On the night of the 10th, the sky, while watched, was 

 little more than half clear. A lull of fifteen minutes occurred, commencing 

 at 11 o'clock, in which there were seen only two Perseids and three un- 

 conformable meteors. In the hour between ll h 30 m and 12 h 30 m , thirty 

 Perseids and two unconformable meteors were seen, and twenty of their 

 tracks were mapped. The principal radiant was not very well defined, a 

 good many meteors coming from the Andromeda side of Perseus. Several 

 of the streaks left were very fine and long enduring. 



Observations at Writtle, Chelmsford, by Mr. H. Corder. The sky was 

 watched for four hours on the night of the 10th, and was partly clear. 

 104 Perseids and eighteen unconformable meteors were seen, the Perseids 

 appearing at the rate of about twenty-six (equal to forty or fifty in a clear 

 sky), and unconformable meteors at the rate of about four (equal to seven 

 or eight in a clear sky), per hour. Forty-eight of the Perseids seen left 

 streaks, three bright flashing meteors leaving fine reddish .trains visible 

 for about twenty seconds. The radiant point of the shower was rather 

 diffuse, with a mean place at 47° + 62°. 



On the night of the 11th the sky was watched, partially clear, for 

 three hours, seventy-six Perseids and eleven other meteors being noted. 

 Thirty- eight of the Perseids left streaks, their average horary number 

 was twenty-five, and that of the unconformable shooting-stars four per 

 hour ; but during the clearest half hour the average horary number of the 

 Perseids reached forty-eight per hour. None were so brilliant as the 

 flashes seen on the previous night ; but some were quite equal to Sirius, 

 and one of the largest of these left a forked streak divided into two 

 branches thus, 



a HERC. 



* 



in the last few degrees of its course, which ended at a point about one- 

 third way from a Ophiuchi to a Herculis. The radiant, better defined 

 than on the previous night, was at 58° + 56°. From the two determina- 

 tions of its place, Mr. Corder suspected a gradual progression of the 

 radiant-point on the two successive nights. 



The Perseids in this shower were swift. Thirty of them were as 



