0?z the Meteors of 1 2th Kovemher. 405 



rection might also be somewhat modified by the course of the wind. 

 On the supposition that their origin was in a region of space beyond 

 the limits of the atmosphere, where they would not partake of the 

 diurnal motion, then on descending to the earth, they would receive a 

 westerly tendency by their inertia, (not instantly acquiring the east- 

 erly motion of the earth,) which relative tendency would be still 

 farther modified by the motion of the earth in its orbit, and by the 

 proper motion belonging to the bodies themselves, if they had such 

 a motion in space. In short, the actual direction would be the resul- 

 tant of all these forces. On either of the foregoing suppositions the 

 apparent might become vejy different, and even directly opposite to 

 the actual directions, by the manner in which they* were projected on 

 the celestial vault in consequence of the position of the spectator, a' 

 point which may be more fully illustrated hereafter by means of dia- 

 grams. 



6. The fixed position, in respect to the stars of the apparent ra- 

 diant, we may now consider as established by the concurrent testi- 

 mony of all those observers who noted its place among the stars, so 

 far as we have been able to obtain their statements. We subjoin ex- 

 tracts from several letters which we have received, in relation to this 

 point, it being premised that all our correspondents had, in their com- 

 munications, previously mentioned that the radiant point was observ- 

 ed in the constellation Leo. 



Mr. Twining of West Point, in a letter dated Nov. 30th, says, 

 " my opinion is, and has been, that although the luminous appearan- 

 ces were within our atmosphere, the source or cause lay far beyond. 

 My own impressions were, that the radiant point did not partake of the 

 earth's rotation, and I named them on the day of the 13th, to a Pro- 

 fessor in the West Point Academy. In the course of debate, we 

 both thought it so improbable, that I was about giving up the idea, 

 as the hght had dimmed the phenomenon before I attempted a second 

 location of the radiant." 



Mr. Barber, of Frederick, Md., under date of Nov. 29th, ob- 

 serves : "In answer to your question, I say with confidence that, from 

 my first observation, at a little before half past 5 o'clock, till the me- 

 teors were overpowered by the light of day, there was to the eye no 

 perceptible variation of the seeming radiant point." 



Professor Aiken, of Emmiitsbur^, Md., in a letter of Dec. 18th, 

 says, " the radiant point was first noticed by myself about a quarter 

 before 5 o'clock, at the latest, and it might have been a few moments 



