OBSERVATIONS OF LUMINOUS METEORS. 



327 



Simultaneous showers from Monoceros, Musca, Triangulum, ft Tauri, 

 fi Persei, and o Aurigas furnished, in fact, during the night, scarcely 

 more than ordinary numbers of about six or ten meteors each. At 

 ll h 56 m a bolide, about twice as bright as Venus, shot obliquely down- 

 wards from the direction of one of these radiant-points near ft Tauri, 

 close to the east horizon, and it appears not improbable that it was iden- 

 tical with one of two bright fire-balls seen on about the date of this ex- 

 ceptionally clear October night in France.* Six meteors as bright as 

 Jupiter, and two as bright as Venus, besides this brilliant bolide, had 

 been recorded by Mr. Denning among the many shooting- stars which he 

 observed on the nights of September 15 to October 8. A meteor- 

 shower in Lynx (with a radiant-point at g Lyncis, also very active in 

 November), was seen about the middle of October, which was very well 

 defined, and, appearing to be new, may only have become visible last 

 year, or since the date of Mr. Greg's last general catalogue in 1875-6. 



The Orionids of October, 1877. — A very successful series of observa- 

 tions of this meteor-shower was obtained between October 16 and 20 

 (a.m.) by Mr. Denning; and at Writtle on October 17 and 18 (a.m.) 

 by Mr. Corder. Between 3 h 40 m and 4 h 40 m a.m. on October 16th meteors 

 were falling at the rate of forty or forty-five per hour ; but not from 

 Orion, nor from any solitary radiant-point, although one in Cancer, at 

 133° + 20°, i (was extremely active. On the mornings of October 17th 

 and 18th the horary numbers were also exceptionally large, twenty-five 

 and thirty-five ; and on these dates, as well as on the 19th and 20th (a.m.) 

 the Orionids had become much the most considerable and conspicuous 

 shower. At their greatest rate of frequency on the 18th (and also 

 on the morning of the 19th) their numbers were nearly equal to those of 

 the sporadic or unconformable meteors of other simultaneously prevailing 

 showers, as the following summary of his observations on the above morn- 

 ings by Mr. Denning will show briefly in a tabular arrangement : — 



" Numbers of the Orionids, October 17-20 (a.m.) 1877, for one observer 

 looking towards Orion (only the times of watch for the Orionids are 

 stated) : — 



" Maximum, October 18th, 3 h 37 m to 4 h 44 m , a.m. ; calculated number 

 of Orionids, twenty-five ; calculated horary number, twenty-two. At 

 4 h 28 ra four bright ones appeared almost simultaneously in Ursa Major. 



* A notice of two such fireballs appeared in the ' Bulletin de l'Association Scien- 

 tifique de France,' vol. xxi. p. 224 (Jan. 6th, 1878). 



