On the Shooting Stars of Aug. 9th and 10th, 1837. 181 



ness, as we desired. The following is a brief account of our ob- 

 servations. — On Wednesday, the ninth of August, we started from 

 the town of Sion, (Canton of Vallais,) about eight in the evening, 

 seated with the conducteur, at the rear of the Diligence, on the 

 outside. On leaving the town, we found the sky entirely clear, 

 and meteors falling in very unusual numbers. Our attention was 

 much attracted by the display, and at five minutes before nine, 

 (by my watch,) we began to count the meteors as they appeared, 

 and continued counting until we had enumerated three hundred, 

 when I found the time to be fifteen minutes before eleven, P. M. 

 Here we ceased to count ; but from this hour until our arrival at 

 Marti gny, at five minutes before 2 A. M. of the next morning, 

 (August 10,) the meteors were apparently no less abundant than 

 while we were counting. Both of us commonly looked at one 

 and the same quarter of the heavens, and I think that we did not 

 in the whole, see a greater number of meteors than a single obser- 

 ver, directing his attention to one and the same quarter of the sky, 

 during that period, would have noted. The part of the heavens 

 towards which we looked, was chiefly the N. N. E., taking in about 

 30° on each side of that point, but occasionally we included some 

 of uncommon splendor, falling in other quarters of the sky. We 

 remarked that many more appeared on the eastern than on the wes- 

 tern side of this point. About one third of the meteors exceeded 

 in apparent size, stars of the first magnitude, and most of the lar- 

 ger sort left behind them trains of sparks. The meteors were 

 mostly of a brilliant white color ; many however, were of a red- 

 dish hue and some showed a slight tinge of green. 



" On our arrival at Martigny, we went to bed, and saw no more. 

 The night of Thursday,, 10th — 11th August, when according to 

 the report of M. Arago, unusual numbers of meteors were seen at 

 Paris, we spent at the village of Chamonix, (Chamouni.) During 

 the evening, the sky was much clouded, and a severe thunder- 

 storm passed over ; — of course no observations on shooting stars 

 could be made. We retired as early as 10 P. M., and I do not 

 know whether at a later hour any observations on meteors were 

 made at that place." 



It appears from the above, that in Europe, at least, the meteoric 

 shower of August, 1837, was more abundant on the night of the 

 9th, than on the night of the 10th. At Paris on the 10th, two 

 observers saw 107 meteors in an hour ; while on the 9ih, in the 



