408 On the Meteors of 1 3/A November. 



24° 40'. At Worthington, it was very near Gamma Leonis, a lit- 

 tle westward of it, having a declination of 21° 30', and having there- 

 fore, when compared with the observations of Dr. Aiken, a parallax 

 in declination of 3° 10'. 



The observations of Capt. Parker in the Gulf of Mexico, will 

 afford when compared with ours, a still greater parallax. (See. p. 

 400.) 



8. For want of good observations, it will be difficult to form a correct 

 estimate of the size of any of die meteors, since a judgment formed 

 by the unassisted eye, upon bodies so transient and so brilliant, is 

 very liable to be erroneous ; but the distance of a fire ball, at the 

 time of its disappearance, being determined, some approximate 

 knowledge may be gained of its dimensions from the apparent diam- 

 eter of its nucleus. According to most observers, these fire balls 

 had each a distinct nucleus, the size of which many compare to the 

 largest apparent dimensions of Jupiter and Venus, which it exceed- 

 ed, and in one or two instances it appeared nearly equal to that of 

 the moon. 



Similar remarks might be made respecting the dimensions of the 

 luminous trains. Moreover, on the supposition that these trains, and 

 the nebulae into which they occasionally resolved themselves, were 

 formed of smoke that originated from the combustion of the meteors, 

 we are led to infer that the meteors themselves were constituted of 

 matter not aeriform, but of a density corresponding to that of a liquid, 

 or perhaps even of a solid body. 



9. It seems difficult to determine whether or not any substance 

 was found, that was probably a deposit or residuum from the mete- 

 ors. The fact, however, that the supposed deposits were so uni- 

 formly described as gelatinoxis substances, forms a presumption in 

 favor of the supposition that they had the origin ascribed to them. 

 This quality, it is worthy of remark, was mentioned by obser\'ers of 

 very different classes, some of whom (as in the instance mentioned 

 by Mr. Twining, p. 396) could hardly be supposed to have ever 

 heard, that to fire-balls of this description had been assigned such a 

 chemical constitution. 



Taking it as established, that such a residuum as has been men- 

 tioned, was deposited by the meteors, we may infer, that the matter 

 of which the meteors were composed was both highly volatile and 

 transparent, — qualities that are apt to be united in very inflamma- 

 ble substances. We know of hardly any thing else, except bodies 



