1839] 'Notice of a Grant engraved on Copper. 495 



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Art. V. — Mr. Middleton on the Meteors of August 10th, 1839. 



To the Editor of the Asiatic Journal. 



Sir, — I beg to send you an account of several meteors, commonly 

 called cerolites, which appeared at Calcutta on the evening of Saturday 

 the 10th instant, and trust that simultaneous observations in other parts 

 of India, may confer upon it scientific value. It is particularly de- 

 sirable, that if the same phenomena were witnessed by others, they 

 should publish the particulars, since by numerous and varied observa- 

 tions alone can any hope of ultimate acquaintance with those yet 

 mysterious bodies be entertained. 



At Up. m. the atmosphere being particularly clear, my attention was 

 attracted by a meteor of comparatively small size, and of a reddish 

 colour, like that of the planet Mars, and unaccompanied by any train. It 

 first appeared at a point in or near the prime vertical, and having about 

 40° of zenith distance, and it disappeared about 30° above the horizon. 

 This was, about thirty minutes after, followed by another of far greater 

 brilliancy and magnitude, which appeared in nearly the same place and 

 followed the same path, projecting behind it a luminous train, stretching 

 from the place of its appearance to that of the disappearance of the body, 

 and vanishing simultaneously with it. The train while it lasted most dis- 

 tinctly marked the path of the aerolite, which appeared to be a curve of 

 small curvature ; while the height and direction of the body, as indicated 

 by it, was such as to have carried it far beyond my horizon. The velocity 

 of this meteor, like that of the others, was amazing, carrying it through 

 between 50° and 60° in as near as I could guess, about 1^ second. At 

 five minutes past eleven another appeared in the zenith, and swept along, 

 in apparently a straight line, vanishing at about the same elevation above 



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