from Mazapil, Mexico. 57 



cinothor; but it is of interest that the pheiiomciion was visible 

 from all portions of the globe. 



" From the island of Reunion, at the southeast of Africa, M. 

 Dubuisson informs us that the meteoric shower was observed in 

 all its grandeur from twilight to 1 A. M. The celestial fire- 

 works were so nnirvellons that uneducated people believed that 

 there would be no stars left in the sky. The maximum fall 

 seems to have occurred at 9 P. M. (5h. 30m. Paris local time). 

 The same observations are sent to us from the islands of Mauri- 

 tius and Madagascar. 



In the United States, the phenomenon was observed at Bloom- 

 ington, Indiana, by Prof. Daniel Kirkwood ; at Princeton, 

 New Jersey, by Prof. C. A. Young, (who estimated the radial 

 point at 2° to the northeast of Gamma-Andromedce); and also by 

 others." 



As befoie stated, from what I have quoted regarding the nu- 

 merous observations made in America, Turkey, Sweden, Belgium, 

 Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, etc., and of the observei's 

 scattered throughout England, Germany, Austria and Russia, it 

 cannot be doubted that the cosmical dust proceeding from the 

 disintegration of Biela's comet enveloped the earth and Avas seen, 

 us meteors, from its ovevj part. 



The conclusion thus derived from all these data is that the 

 meteoric-shower of Nov. 27th, 1885, was of more importance 

 than that of 1872. 



M. W. Meyer,* of Berlin, has calculated the elements of these 

 bodies and compared them with those of Biela's comet (see table 

 below), and there can be no doubt of the identity of their 

 orbits : 



Biela's 



Comet, 1S53. 



Meteors, 1872. 



Meteors, 1S85. 



Perihelion f 



Sep. 23. 



Dec, 27. 



Dec. 28. 



Long, of node q 



246° 19' 



246° 6' 



245° 55' 



Inclination { 



12° 33' 



12° 40' 



12° 35' 



Long, of Perihelion tt 



109° 36' 



110° 18' 



111° 53' 



Eccentricity - e 



0.7559 



0.7518 



0.7538 



Log. of the Perihelion 









Distance, Log. q, 



9.9348 



9.9376 



9.9332 



(N. B. — These elements are with regard to the apparent equinox of 1885. 9.) 

 * " L'Astronomie,'' Feb., 1886, p. 69 



