422 Magnificent Meteor seen on the 27th of November, 1862. 



MAGNIFICENT METEOR SEEN ON THE 27th OF 

 NOVEMBER, 1862. 



BY E. J. LOWE, F.R.A.S., E.L.S., ETC. 



Another of those curious strangers that now and then make 

 their appearance to astonish and puzzle us, was seen on the 

 27th of November. 



Before describing this phenomenon, it will perhaps be 

 desirable to say a few words, en passant, on meteors in general. 

 These bodies vary considerably in size, shape, velocity, and 

 appearance : some are so small as scarcely to be visible to the 

 naked eye ; others, on the contrary, are two or three times the 

 apparent diameter of the moon. Some are visible and gone 

 again almost instantaneously, others lasting a number of 

 seconds. Respecting their shape, they are oval, circular, kite- 

 shaped, sharp and well-defined, or a confused mass of light — 

 occasionally assuming extraordinary forms. 



Nearly all the large meteors give the impression of being 

 within a few hundred yards of the observer, showing how falla- 

 cious our estimate frequently is as to the distance and size of 

 bright bodies ; and this remark may also apply with equal truth 

 to dark bodies. In a total eclipse of the sun, the dark surface 

 of the moon has been seen apparently within two or three 

 hundred feet of the earth, and yet it was, in reality, thousands 

 of miles away. The meteor that has just occurred was thought 

 to be within a few hundred yards of an observer near London, 

 and equally near to others who viewed it from Grantham. At 

 the latter place a gentleman was certain that it was on this side 

 of the Wood-hill Tunnel, until it was pointed out that were 

 this the case, there must have been a line of brighter light along 

 its path reflected on the ground. The ^distance, however, had 

 no increase of light, and the darkness caused by a steep hill on 

 this side of both the moon and meteor was not diminished ; 

 clearly showing that it must have been far beyond this hill. 

 From the appearance and position, as seen from Dover (150* 

 miles S.E.), it seems to have been at least three or four hun- 

 dred miles distant from Grantham. As regards size, this is 

 also fallacious ; an incandescent body of a known size does not 

 decrease in its apparent dimensions by removal to a greater 

 or less distance : for in some experiments it was found that 

 the source of light appeared greater at a quarter of a mile away 

 than it did at a hundred yards. A row of lamps in a street is 

 not seen to decrease by distance in the same manner when 

 lighted at night as when viewed in the daytime. 



Occasionally these large bodies are seen to burst, a noise as 



