﻿and Acoustic Phenomena attending the Fall of Meteorites. 26 1 



cosmical space. A specimen from Ptdtusk in the Imperial Mu- 

 seum of Vienna shows, in a breadth of about 2 inches, seven 

 planes of separation filled up with enamel-like substance*. M. 

 von Fritsch has published a valuable notice of the chemical 

 constitution of the Pultusk meteorites in No. 5, pp. 92-94 of 

 the Proceedings of the Imperial Geological Institute for 1868. 



11. Professor G. V. Schiaparelli. — This illustrious astronomer 

 of Milan has published (1867) " Notes and Reflections on the 

 Astronomical Theory of Falling Stars " in the Memorie di Ma- 

 tematica e Fisica delta Societa Italiana delle Scienze, ser. 3, 

 vol. i. part 1, p. 153. The author treats only collaterally of 

 the formation of meteorites and the phenomena connected with 

 their fall, his chief purpose being the development of his re- 

 markable discovery concerning the concordance of the course 

 cf meteoric currents with the orbits of some comets. This 

 subject, merely alluded to with great reserve by that noble pa- 

 triarch of science, Alex, von Humboldt, in his ' Cosmos ' (vol. i. 

 p. 142), could only be discussed by way of numerical com- 

 parison subsequent to the preparatory investigations of MM. 

 Leverrier and H. A. Newton. Professor Schiaparelli (p. 198) 

 admits the transmutation of the vis viva into heat and light, and 

 alludes (p. 255) to the probability of the meteoric iron having 

 at first been gaseous, as the existence of crystals of olivine in 

 the interior of the "Pallasian iron" could not be explained 

 by means of any other supposition. Alexander von Humboldt f 

 declares inadmissible, even in the regions of mere probability, 

 any unproved arbitrary opinion ; and, indeed, those who have 

 specially studied the substances composing the solid crust of our 

 globe will explain the fact here in question rather by the mobi- 

 lity of the minutest particles of even solid substances in the 

 course of their successive development than by ascribing to matter 

 such proprieties as they are not known to possess at present. 



12. Dr. E. Weiss begins his paper " On Falling Stars "J with 

 the words, " It can no longer be doubted that the igneous phe- 

 nomena connected with falling stars owe their existence merely 

 to the resistance of the atmosphere." He assumes that every year 

 the earth gives to innumerable meteors a direction which takes 

 them out of the solar system into the region of the fixed stars. 

 The contrary process may likewise take place, as Professor Galle 

 (see above) has proved the meteoric swarm of Pultusk to have en- 

 tered the solar system with a velocity of at least one or two geogra- 

 phical miles per second. Dr. E.Weiss supposes the nuclei of the 

 falling-star meteors to be small, without determining their size ; 



* See Vienna Acad. Proc. vol. lvii. sect. 2. p. 1, March 12, 1868. 



t Cosmos, vol. i. p. 137- 



X Vienna Acad. Proc. vol. lvii. sect. 2, pp. 281-342, January 19, 1868. 



