54 On the 'Iron Meteorite 



Tiiangle, and fiiiMlly, at niidiiigbt, bad )-eaciicd a point efiiiidis- 

 tant from the Tji angle and the bead of Medusa. Tbe maxim nni 

 was at 8.30 P. M., and ibe greatest number 93 per minute. Aftei- 

 11 P. M. tbe number diminisbed greatly, and by midnight there 

 were intervals of quiet. Between 12.30 and 1 A. M., 87 only weie 

 counted. Tbe velocity of these meteors was generally slow ; tbe 

 most striking traced curvilinear arcs ; tbe beads wTre white in 

 color and tbe tails red. 



Magnets were not affected. It is loortlty of note, that the earth, 

 during tliis phenomenon, ivas in the node of the orbit of Bi eta's 

 comet. 



Many observers noted tbe same facts as tbe distinguished l)i- 

 I'cctor of the Roman Observatoi-y ; and as it would be too ardu- 

 ous a task to copy here the rei)ort of each of them, even in ab- 

 stract, I will review only the most important. Facchini, at 

 Mazzarino, counted 12,950 meteors, from 9h. 30m. to midnight. 

 In Callanisetta, M. Zona counted 28,000 during the entire night ; 

 in Matare, 38,513; in Mondovi, 30,881. Tbe Abbe Denza, at 

 Moncaliera, counted 33,400 from 6 P. M. to midnight, and esti- 

 mates the maximum at 8 o'clock ; remarking that it was a very 

 i-ain of firi', similar to that seen at the explosion of bombs. 



This beautiful rain of stars was also observed in France. At 

 Nice, by Feyssere and Maccario ; at Bordeaux, by Lespiault and 

 Roussaune; at Grenoble, by M. Breton ; at Chambery, by M. 

 Vallet ; at Macon, by Lemoisy ; etc., etc. The observers at Ma- 

 con fixed the radial point with the following co-ordinates : 



Right ascension, 2 h. Declination, 40°. 



This point coiresj^ouds to tbe constellation of Andromeda. 

 They add: "Among these meteors we observed a sphere, or 

 globe, of fire, reddish in color, of from 5-6 minutes in diameter, 

 which fell at 10 h. 50 m. from Procyou, and proceeding toward 

 the horizon without leaving a trail, disappeared behind the roof 

 of a house. We observed many brilliant stars, tbe majority being 

 of the second magnitude. They genei-ally described very short 

 paths of from 5 to 6 degrees length, all leaving trains. Before 

 they disappeared, they seemed to resolve themselves into a lumi- 

 nous dust. One of them showed no apparent nucleus, but looked 

 like a small phosphorescent clond.''' 



