18 ON THE ORBIT AND PHENOMENA 



it exploded when a little east of north ; and that tne duration of its passage was 

 three minutes."^ 



Lima, Pennsylvania, No. 135. Observed by Minshall Painter, who reports that 

 the meteor was " first seen at an elevation of 20° to 25° ;" that it was a little higher 

 when it passed the meridian ; and that the duration of its passage was " not over 

 one minute." 



Lochport, New York, No. 177. Communicated by George Berk in reply to a 

 letter from me. The following is an extract from his reply : "I found one gentle- 

 man, who saw the meteor, and observed it carefully, and verified his observations by 

 visiting the ground the next day. He says that its course, through the greater part 

 of its path, appeared to be nearly horizontal, and that its apparent altitude, when in 

 the direction you name, S. 48|° E., was about 40°. I was not able to visit the 

 place of observation with him to make any measurements, but as he has given con- 

 siderable attention to this, and to astronomical phenomena generally, I have no 

 doubt that the angle, as it appeared to him, is nearly correct."^ 



Lowville, New York, Nos. 58, 62, 95, 109, 115, and 128. Communicated by 

 Dr. Franklin B. Hough, in reply to a letter from the author. The following is an 

 extract from his reply : " In compliance with your request, I have made inquiries of 

 several persons who saw the meteor of July 20th, and with a theodolite have taken 

 the angles observed by them. 



" Mr. Sweeney first saw it due west at an elevation of 9°. It issued from behind 

 a cloud, and was rising (apparently). Soon after, it gave off sparks compared to 

 Roman candles ; seen over half a minute. It passed a point S. 9° E. at an eleva- 

 tion of 18° 15', and disappeared at a point S. 38° E. at an elevation of 1° 12'.^ 



« Mr. D. A. Smith saw it S. 68° W. at an elevation of 22° ; also S. 22° W. at an 

 elevation of 24° 45'. 



" Mr. W. H. Greeley and W. Watson saw it S. 38° W. 20° high. 



" All agree upon its division into two parts, one following the other. The time is 

 usually put at from 30 to 50 seconds. 



" AU the horizontal angles above given are from the magnetic meridian, which 

 now varies 5° 45' W. at this place." 



Madison, New Jersey, Lat. 40° 46', Long. 74° 29'. Reported time of the meteor's 

 appearance "nearly 10 o'clock P.M."* 



Marcy, New York, Lat. 43° 9', Long. 75° 16'. Meteor exploded "when it 

 passed the meridian."^ 



• According to the calculated path, it exploded in the direction N. 1° 44' E., but the meteor occu- 

 pied less than 70 seconds in passing from the meridian of Libertytovvn to the farthest point east at 

 which it was seen by any reliable observer. 



" According to calculation, the meteor must have appeared to rise till it reached the azimuth S. 15° 

 or 20° W., where its altitude was over 68°, and then apparently descended, reaching the altitude 

 " 40," at an easterly azimuth of about 50°. 



^ According to calculation, the interval between Mr. Sweeney's first and last observations was 61 

 seconds. 



* By calculation, the meteor passed the meridian of Madison at 9h. 45m. 56 sec. 



' According to calculation, the first disruption occurred some eight seconds earlier. See note 

 under Washingtonville, page 31. 



