"are 

458. - Mr. Pieorr’s Account of 
have been feen on the ground. This ball, when formed, be- 
gan to move, with an eafy fliding motion, from W.N.W. — 
towards the S.S.E.. It fuggefted the idea of a highly brilliant | 
comet, emitting a train or tail, but of a different colour from. 
the ball itfelf, this laft being of a moft brilliant bluifh white, 
and the tail of a dufky red, the length of which appeared to 
extend over fifteen or more degrees of the heavens, fig. 2. 
The apparent diameter of the nucleus feemed one-third or one- 
fourth of the full moon’s diameter. The greateft difficulty in 
this eftimation hence arifes, that I cannot, notwithftanding all 
my endeavours, reprefent in my mind the moon otherwife 
than as a plane or difk; nor the meteor, than as a {pherical. body. 
The altitude of it, when it formed in the W.N.W. was about 
30°; and about 19° or 20° above the horizon, when it became 
extinct in the S.S.E. a few fparks of the tail, neareft the 
nucleus, {cattering themfelves much in the fame manner as 
thofe of a fky-rocket when burnt out, fig. 3. 
It has been faid, that the ball divided itfelf into three or 
four parts before its extin€tion. ‘To me it appeared to vanifh 
or gently die away: what confirms mein the opinion, that it did 
uot divide, is, that the three or four {cattering parts above-men- 
tioned were not of the bright colour of the ball itfelf, but of 
the dufky red which the tail invariably fhewed. ‘The interval 
of time from the meteor’s formation to its extin@tion was 
nearly twenty feconds, perhaps two or three feconds lefs. The 
long habit I have of counting feconds in aftronomical ob- 
{ervations induces me to think this quantity may be relied on 5 
and this I mention, becaufe fome have eftimated it more, fome 
lefs. Nine or ten minutes after its diffipation, I heard a noife, 
much refembling the report of a cannon at a very great dif- 
tance; but I would not with to have it underftood, that I 
{peak 
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