36 Notice of a Meteoric Fire Ball. 



fore ten o'clock. The sky was extensively overcast, yet the 

 covering was every where thin ; and in the North where the 

 Meteor appeared, in various tracts of considerable extent, the 

 stars were in full view. I was standing on a platform on the 

 North side of the house, where I could survey the whole tract 

 of sky over which the meteor passed. When the light first 

 broke upon me, I was looking eastward, and for a moment 

 supposed it to be a flash of very vivid lightning ; but from 

 its continuance was led almost instantly to look to the lumin- 

 ary whence it proceeded. The following are the observa- 

 tions which I made at the time with regard to it. 



1. The meteor, when I first saw it, was about 35° above 

 the horizon ; and from the course of the fence near which I 

 stood, I judged its direction, at that time, to be about N. 

 20° E. 



2. Its figure was nearly that of an ellipse, with the ends 

 in a slight degree sharpened or angular. 



3. The length of the transverse diameter appeared to be 

 about equal to the apparent diameter of the moon when on 

 the meridian ; and that of the conjugate, about three fourths 

 of the transverse. 



4. The color of the body resembled that of the moon, 

 but was evidently more yellow. 



5. A trail of light was formed behind it of considerable 

 length, perhaps of ten or twelve degrees. It was broadest 

 near the body, and decreased in breadth very slowly for 

 about two fifths of its length ; after which it was an uni- 

 form stripe of light, about as wide as the apparent diameter 

 of the planet Venus. The direction of the tail was coinci- 

 dent with that of the transverse diameter. 



6. The ball was much more luminous than the tail, so that 

 the end of the ball connected with the tail was scarcely less 

 distinct in its form than the opposite end. 



7. The illumination was so powerful, that all the objects 

 around me cast distinct shadows, though less strongly mark- 

 ed than when the moon is at the full. 



8. Numerous sparks, of the apparent size of the smaller 

 stars, but much more brilliant, were continually issuing from 

 the ball of the meteor, and after descending a little distance, 

 soon disappeared. 



9. The length of time, in which the body was visible, was 

 about eight, or possibly ten seconds. 



10. A short time before its disappearance — say one or two 



