78 H. A. Newton on Shooting Stars in November, 1866. 
Art. XII.—Shooting Stars in November, 1866; by H. A. 
NEWTON. 
Tue brilliant exhibition of the November meteors witnessed 
in Europe on the 14th of that month is a confirmation (if such 
confirmation was needed) of the astronomical character of these 
bodies, and of the thirty-three-year cycle. e European obser- 
vations are evidently those which will throw most light upon 
their cosmical relations. Yet those made in this country on the 
nights of Nov. 12th-13th and 18th—14th must have decided 
value. The radiant point in Leo rises above our horizon about 
‘clock p.M., which corresponds with 45 a.m. Greenwich 
time. Our observations then from midnight onward on the 
morning of the 14th may be regarded as a continuation of those 
which in England were interrupted by the approach of daylight. 
They serve to give the law of decrease in density of the meteor- 
oids as we leave the group. On the other hand, during the 
former night the earth was approaching the group, being at 
dawn only fifteen hours distant from its center. 
1. At New Haven.—On the two nights 10th—12th of November 
the sky was entirely overcast; so also on the nights 14th—16th. 
On the night of Nov. 12th-13th we commenced counting the 
shooting stars ten minutes after 11 o’clock. There were fifteen 
or more in the party, principally students in the College. It 
was intended that at least twelve persons should be continually 
looking for the meteors. This number was maintained through- 
out the watch on this and the following nights, except for a very 
short period when only eight or ten were present. During part 
of the time, on the first night particularly, there were, besides 
the twelve, from two to five others assisting in counting. Two 
of us gave our attention to the location of the paths of particu- 
lar meteors, remarkable for size, color, trains, &c., and to other 
~~ aside from the counting. : 
e watched from the top of the tower of Graduates’ Hall, 
from which there is an unobstructed view of the heavens. To 
ne persons were assigned particular portions of the sky around 
were counted aloud to prevent duplication. The total number 
seen by the party in each quarter-hour was thus obtained. It 
was also important to learn how many meteors each observer 
To prevent the confusion that would result from counting 
in a double series, I gave to each person a card with directions 
to keep a tally upon it of those seen by himself. A few of these 
tallies were afterwards found to be imperfect, but the residue 
enable us to compare our numbers with those seen elsewhere by 
fewer observers. t 
