On the Meteors of 13th November, 1833. 157 
instantly contracted in length, and assumed the form of a serpent, 
with its head to the north; that it continued to contract in length, 
doubling and crossing itself, and forming a confused line, like that of 
a loose cord or a piece of tape dropped endwise on the floor, and 
then gradually dilated, and intermingled its folds, and assumed the 
form of a light cloud, passing off slowly in an easterly direction.” To 
this description Mr. Tomlinson annexed a drawing representing the 
successive figures of the train, which agree in general with those ob- 
served by myself. The time and other circumstances also accord 
so well in the two cases, that we can hardly resist the impression that 
both spectators were observing one and the same object. Proceed- 
ing on this supposition, we may form some estimate of the height of 
this train, that is, of the place where the fire ball exploded. This 
place being 40° from the zenith of New Haven, and at or near the 
zenith of Brookfield, distant 25 miles, the elevation above the latter 
place must have been about 30 miles, that being the tangent of the 
angle of elevation. It favors the supposition, also, that the large fire 
balls were extinguished at a considerable height above the earth, that 
little or no sound was heard, while we should expect a heavy report 
from bodies of such magnitude, moving with such prodigious velocity 
through the lower regions of the atmosphere, whatever might have 
been their density. It appears moreover that whenever a cloud was 
so situated as to enable the spectator to compare its elevation with 
that of the falling meteors, the latter appeared the most elevated. 
Thus Capt. Parker in the Gulf of Mexico saw the fire balls pass be- 
hind a cloud, but not one passed between the cloud and the observer; 
and Professor Hitchcock says that “in no instance was a meteor ob- 
served between the clouds and the earth.” (See his Essay in the 
last number of this Journal.) Brydone also testifies, that shooting 
stars seen from Mount Etna and the highest peaks of the Alps, al- 
ways appeared as high as when seen from the lowest grounds. 
Two difficulties, on the other hand, attending the supposition that 
the place of explosion was as high in this case as 30 miles, are very 
formidable. The first is, the great apparent extent of the train, and the 
second, the velocity of the cloud which resulted from it. The train of 
this meteor is judged to have been at least 10°, and others seen by Mr. 
Tomlinson were thought to be 40° in length. Since a body balf a 
degree in diameter at the distance of 30 miles would have an actual 
diameter of ,°; of a mile, it follows that a body 10° in length,- must 
have extended over a space 5,°, miles long. Again, the cloud mo- 
