334 Shooting Stars of August 9 and 10, 1840. 



Some other meteoric periods. 



It seems quite probable that the months of June, October and 

 January, (the dates first named at p. 366, Vol. xxxv, among possi- 

 ble meteoric seasons,) will each furnish a period at which shoot- 

 ing stars may be seen, either annually or occasionally, in uncom- 

 mon frequency. The following is the evidence in regard to the 

 date last referred to, — the morning of the second of January. 



1. At the conchisiou of a description of a singular meteor seen 

 about 5 A. M. January 2, 1825, between S. Giovanni and Monte- 

 varchi, in Tuscany, M. Antonio Brucalassi, the observer, adds, — 

 " The night during which this meteor appeared, was clear, calm, 

 and very cold. Before and after its appearance, the atmosphere 

 was traversed by a multitude of the luminous bodies known by 

 the name of falling stars." — Antologia, Feb. \S25,p. 135, quoted 

 in Ferussac's Bull. Univ., Math. Phys., etc. iii, 328. 



2. I have been informed, but not directly, that a person at this 

 place, (New Haven,) saw an unusual number of meteors before 

 daylight on the morning of the first of January, 1839. 



3 and 4. M. L. F. Wartmann, of Geneva, in a paper on the 

 meteors of August 10 and 11, 1838, {Corresp. Math, et Phys. 

 deM. Quetelet, Bruxelles, Juillet, 1839,) states the following: — 

 "M. Reynier has informed me that on the 2d of January, 1838, 

 at 3 o'clock in the morning, there was seen at Planchettes and at 

 La Ghaux-de-Fonds, (Switzerland,) an unusual display of shoot- 

 ing stars. I may add that a similar phenomenon was observed 

 at Mornex, near Geneva, on the 2d of January, 1835, from 4 

 A. M. until daylight." p. 351. 



The testimony which can be adduced in support of a meteoric 

 period in June, seems no less strong than that given above in 

 regard to January, yet it does not appear certain on what day of 

 the month the maximum falls. The data now in hand indicate 

 the period from the 15th to the 20th ; but this must be deter- 

 mined by future observation. The precise date of the greatest 

 meteoric frequency in October is still less definitely known, but 

 it will in all probability be found to occur between the 8th and 

 25th of the month. 



New Haven, Conn., August 28, 1840. 



