1C2 Falling Stars and Meteorites. 



these limits the first appearance was that of fireworks of the 

 most imposing grandeur, covering the entire vault of heaven 

 with myriads of fire-balls resembling sky-rockets." . There 

 were, however, three varieties, the first consisting of Hues of 

 light, the second of defined fire-balls, and the third of ill- 

 defined luminous bodies. The two latter remained for some 

 tim e visible. All appeared to emanate from a point in the con- 

 stellation Leo, andthis'point retained the same relative position 

 among the stars during the whole night. The greater number 

 of the meteors described an arc of 30 J or 40' with some rapidity, 

 but the undefined bodies lasted in one case for more than an 

 hour. One of the fire-balls was heard to explode with the 

 sound of a cannon, and slight explosions, with occasional 

 hissing noises, were heard from time to time during the night. 



Among the phenomena attendant on these hues, points, and 

 globes of light, which sometimes evidently change their state, 

 and burst in the air, are falls of stones and other substances. 

 Thus on the 4th of May, 1858, an ignited globe was seen in 

 the air, which fell down into a farm -yard, exploding with aloud 

 report. A smell of sulphur was perceived, and incandescent 

 fragments flew in different directions, one of which hit a cow. 

 The straw was disturbed and turned up where the globe was 

 seen to fall, but it was not burnt, and no hole was seen in the 

 ground. This occurred in Buckinghamshire, about six miles 

 north-west of Aylesbury, at the village of Quainton. 



In the year 1860, there were several occasions when remark- 

 able and brilliant appearances were seen in the heavens, fol- 

 lowed by showers of stones falling on the earth. On the first 

 of May in that year, about a quarter to one in the morning, a 

 brilliant meteor, almost as large as the moon, was seen. It 

 had a tail equal in length to twelve diameters. The whole 

 moved on from S.E. to N.W., apparently falling, and was seen 

 for three seconds. During and after the time when it was 

 visible, a number of distinct explosions were heard, of which 

 twenty-three were counted j other sounds followed like salvos 

 of musketry, the whole duration of the sounds being two 

 minutes. 



This meteor was seen at places distant about twenty-five 

 miles from its direel path, and the detonations were heard over 

 an I arly eighty miles in radius. It was estimated to bo 



about three-eighths of a mile in diameter, and to move at the 

 rate of four miles in a second. 



Winn :l e height above the earth of about forty miles it 



i il, and black stones fell through the clouds with a 



wnizzi ad directly after the explosions. Thirty of the 



stones were found on a about ten miles in Length by three 



in width. < tf I ones on lied 108 lbs., others half that 



