PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. 139 



REPORT OF TBTE COMMITTEE TO COLLECT IN- 

 FORMATION RELATIVE TO THE METEOR 

 OF DECEMBER 24th, 1873. 



(Read April 7, 1877.) 



At the meeting of the Philosophical Society on the 27th of 

 December, 1873, its attentioa was called by Dr. Peter Parker 

 to a remarkable meteor which occurred on Christmas Eve, who 

 described it in a note of the 25th December, given in the accom- 

 panying appendix. No. I.* Other members of the Society had 

 also witnessed the meteor, and much interest having been awak- 

 ened, the President, Prof. Henry, suggested that " a committee 

 be appointed to secure all the information possible to be ob- 

 tained in reference to the unusually bright meteor." A com- 

 mittee was accordingly appointed, and they now submit this 

 report of the manner in which the duty assigned has been dis- 

 charged, and the results of their labors. 



The committee began its labors by the formation of the chart 

 No. 1, accompanying this report— embracing the country south 

 of the centres of the states of Ohio and Pennsylvania, and north 

 of central Georgia, within which region it was presumed the 

 meteor might have been visible. 



The following circular was then prepared and sent lo about 

 five hundred persons, especially to the postmasters and news- 

 paper editors at county seats, to the colleges, and to meteoro- 

 logical observers : — 



Washington, D. C, Jan. 9, 1874. 



Dear Sir : At a recent meeting of the Philosophical Society 

 of Washington, it was resolved that a committee be appointed 

 to secure all the information possible to be obtained in reference 

 to the unusually bright meteor seen throughout this region of the 

 country at about a quarter before eight on the 24th of December 

 or Christmas Eve. ' 



To this end, I can assure you that the Society will highly ap- 

 preciate your kindness if you will communicate to it such obser- 

 vations as were made either by yourself or your acquaintances, 

 or such as may be found in records that are accessible to you, 

 even it such observations are only of the most general character. 



It IS considered particularly important that you should give 

 as detailed answers as possible to the following questions :— 



* Owincr to its ^reat length this Appendix is not printed. Dr Parker's 

 oh>^ervat'ons are, however, s;iven in abstract in No. 22 of Appendix No. II. 

 The publication of Chart No. 1 is regarded as unnecessarj. 



