Meteors of November, 1868, 405 
stant, above the earth’s surface. An allowance for the curva- 
ture of the earth is to be added to the height above the hori- 
zon of the observer. The azimuth of 0, or d, when measured, 
gives the means of locating the place over which this point of 
the meteor’s path was vertical. _ 
The arcs, ab and bd, measured upon the globe, are about 
283° and 57°, which give the distances of the track from New 
Haven and Haverford, 182, and 87:3 miles, respectively. But, 
owing to the fact that the arc, abd, cuts the Haverford track 
| atasharp angle, we seek a closer determination of the path 
_ by another method. 
__The position of Jupiter with reference to the track and 
cloud makes it worth while to compute its altitude and azi- 
muth from New Haven at 1 16™ 20s, and 15 44m, These are 
found to be 8. 75° 16’ W., and 8. 80° 8’ W., for the azimuth, 
and 16° 48’, and 11° 433’ for the altitudes. 
Now, the observed path should be in the are of a great cir- 
cle which passes through the radiant. By bringing the radiant 
and the point 2° N. of Jupiter to the horizon of the celestial 
globe, the zenith of New Haven will be found to be 5° above 
the horizon. Hence, the meteor passed (though then unseen) 
5° 8. of our zenith. 
Again, the point in the direction 8. 77° 16’ W., 182 miles 
from New Haven on a line elevated 16° 48’, is over latitude 
40° 42’, longitude 76° 9’, and 56 miles high. The elevation 
of the center of the radiant area above the horizon of this 
point was about 20°. Hence we may carry back the meteor’s 
track with an elevation of 20° till it cuts the meridian of New — 
n, see, thus, that the meteor passed at an elevation 
of 120 miles and 10-5 miles south of us. : 
This gives us a good determination of the vertical plane in 
which the meteor was moving, the accuracy of the determina- 
tion being due to the nearly vertical path of the meteor as 
seen at ev Haven, and the easy reference of it to Jupiter. 
But the New Haven observations are not suited to the deter- 
mination of the altitude of the track in the plane. This may 
also be said of all the observations at Williamstown, Palisades, 
and Poughkeepsie. : 
‘he distance from Haverford to this vertical plane, measured 
on the chart in the direction of Wilkesbarre, or N. 20° W., is 
554 miles, The observed altitude in the same direction 1s 
48°, which gives an altitude of 61 miles for the meteor at that 
point. The distance from Wilkesbarre to the plane is 
miles in the direction 8. 20° E. An altitude of 61 miles re- 
presents an angular altitude of 60°. The star 4 Orionis hap- 
pened to be in this same azimuth, and had an altitude of 57°. 
