OBSERVATIONS UPON THE METEORS OF AUGUST. 



271 



equal to the estimate for the night of the 10th, 1838. Probably we had the 

 good fortune to witness the maximum intensity of the shower. 



Permit me here to remark, that in all the published notices of August meteors 

 I have seen, no one has hinted at the extreme difference in character from the No- 

 vember meteors. This should be borne in mind. The form.er are very uniform, 

 and are sujfificiently described above. The shower of Nov. 12, 1833, 1 witnessed 

 in all its magnificence, at West Point; and after my first surprise at the grand 

 illumination itself, the most striking feature I observed was the great number 

 of explosions. I listened carefully for the noises, but heard none ; nor do I be- 

 lieve that any could be heard, though they frequently burst into many blazing 

 fragments, very much like sky rockets to the eye. The colours of the meteors 

 were very various, from deep red, to bronze, yellow, and white. No meteors 

 fell between my eye and the mountains, which rise near fifteen hundred feet 

 within three miles. The trains of many meteors assumed a curling, nebulous 

 form, and vanished very slowly, several remaining visible from five to ten mi- 

 nutes, and one, which has been so much noticed, though far below Capella at 

 West Point, remained some fifteen minutes. 



Table I. 

 Tabular Description and Classification of Meteors of August 9, 1840. 









^ 



Vh 



^ 



^ 







•^ ^ 



m" 



O 



O 



e3 





00 C 



-H 



o . 



^w 



>. 



V 





S £ 



n C '^ 

 cm 



OJ " 







•2 





G ej 



n o e 



C _J;h 







]m 



Comparative Magnitudes. 





seen fn 

 t, by on 

 ; for hill 



o ri 











1^ 





t1 



o 





o 





<u ^ 



a3 cc c 



s ^ 



.2S 



_o 



5 





OJ -^ 



c "^ J- 



:S c 



|S 



rt 



Ml 





£ T! 



- Q aj 









c 





o 



CO w > 





=3 





CJ 





00 *-' 



CO 



o 



> 



o 



Q 



>J 



1 



Three times the size of Jupiter. 



1 



1 



40° 



4^5 



P.7 



20° 



Twice " " 



6 







35 



3.6 



1 .0 



15 



Equal to 



12 



2 



25 



2.5 



0.8 



12 



" " First magnitude. 



12 



14 



20 



1 .8 



.6 



9 



" " Second " 



32 



17 



12 



1 .2 



0.5 



5 



" " Third 



5 



33 



7 



0.9 



0.4 



4 



Below " " 



none 



36 



6 



0.6 



0.4 



4 



In order to locate the radiant with precision, at different times, in the pro- 

 gress of the display, the following results have been obtained by projecting the 

 paths of the meteors, from our minutes, upon a map of the heavens. In 

 observing and noting, we recorded the points of appearance and disappear- 

 ance of each conformable meteor, as well as the line in Cassiopeia or Perseus 

 through which its path traced back would pass. This was done on the instant, 



