On the Meteors of 13th November, 1833. 143 
then consider the consequences of a slow progressive motion in the 
cloud from north to south. Following the eastern limits, as the only 
one within our observation, we see that places lying on the same me- 
ridian, south of the place of the cloud at any moment, would pass 
to the eastward before the cloud would be vertical. This would 
cause the eastern line to extend in a direction from N. E. to S. W. 
Such we believe to have been the fact. In lat. 2° N. lon. 41° W. 
the phenomenon was not visible. In lat. 36° N. lon. 61° W. “an 
unusual number of meteors were seen, but comparatively few, not 
more than four or five ina minute.” (See the last Vol. of the Jour- 
nal, p. 399.) But, in this longitude, as far north as St. George’s 
Banks, the display was as great as at New York. Capt. Parker al- 
so, in the Gulf of Mexico, actually saw the cloud advancing from N. 
E. to S. W. 
An observation of Mr. Riddell at Worthington, Ohio, would seem, 
at first view, to be at variance with this fact. ‘It first occurred to 
me (says Mr. R.) to determine the location of the point from which 
the Meteors seemed to radiate, a little before 5 o’cleck. A gentle- 
man present, happened to have a map of the constellation Leo, so 
that we had no difficulty in recording our observations pretty accu- 
rately. At 5 o’clock, the R. A. of this point, as since determined 
from a globe, was near 149°: its declination, 21° 45’. ‘Twenty 
minutes later, the R. A. was 151°, dec. 21° 30’, nearly. From 
this time, until the meteoric exhibition was rendered invisible by the 
light of day, the center of radiation seemed to retain the same place 
in the heavens, moving westward with the fixed stars.”* 
From this observation, it appears that before it became stationary, 
the cloud or source of the meteors, had an absolute motion from N. 
W. to S. E. How then could it appear to Capt. Parker, to advance 
from N. E. to S. W.? Resolving the southeasterly motion into two 
motions, one directly south, the other directly east, had the latter por- 
tion been exactly equal to the diurnal motion, the cloud would have 
been seen by Capt. Parker, (who referred the motion to the terres- 
trial meridian,) to advance directly south; but had the easterly part 
of the motion been less than that of the earth, the cloud would have 
apparently advanced from N. E.to S. W. The latter supposition, 
namely, that the progress of the cloud was so slow that the easterly 
part of the motion was less than the diurnal, is probably the true one— 
* Letter to the writer, Dec. 21, 18338. 
