CONTINUOUS IMAGES OF LIGHTNING. 635 



On the 17th at iih. 22m. P. M., conjunction of Venus and the Moon. 

 Venus south 6° 47'. 



On the i8th at ph. A. M., conjunction of Mercury and the Moon. Mer- 

 cury south 1° 38'. 



On the 18th at gh P. M., Mercury at greatest heliocentric latitude, north. 



On the 20th at 6h. P. M., conjunction of Venus and the Sun, superior. 



On the 22d at 2h. P. M., conjunction of Saturn and the Moon. Saturn 

 south 4° 38'. 



On the 22d at i2h. P. M., conjunction of Neptune and the Moon. Nep- 

 tune south 3° 34'. 



On the 23d at ph. A. M., conjunction of Jupiter and the Moon. Jupiter 

 south 2^ 07'. 



On the 26th at ih P. M., conjunction of Mars and the Moon. Mars north 

 5° II'- 



METEOROLOGY. 



CONTINUOUS IMAGES OF LIGHTNING. 



BY R. A. BLAIR. 



The evening of June 18, 1875, in ^^^ locality of Sedalia, Mo., was remarka- 

 ble for its unusual electrical display. The north was sullen and black. An al- 

 most continuous occurrence of sheet-lightning in the background illuminated the 

 dense clouds in front, through which intense strokes of zigzag lightning made a 

 terrific effect. Following one of these last forms, my attention was arrested by its 

 leaving a counterpart or image of itself, which was brought into distinct and 

 sharper relief by the flashes of sheet-lightning occurring as above stated. 



The image disappeared from below upward, gradually; its entire duration 

 being about forty or forty-five seconds. Fifteen minutes afterward a similar 

 stroke left an image equally as sharp, with a duration of, say, fifteen seconds. 

 Both images appeared of a sharp brown color. 



Will some one explain the phenomenon ? 



Note. — Were it not for the duration of these images we should be inclined to attribute 

 to their presence to the imprefsion of the vivid flash upon the retina of the observer. The 

 dark color of the images also confirms this idea, but such images usually last much less time, 

 so that if Mr. B. is positive as to the time, we must look to some peculiar condition of the 

 atmosphere for the explanation of the phenomenon. — [Ed, Review. 



V— 40 



