LUMINOUS METEORS. 



109 



on returning to Europe was astonished to find that 

 they had been seen there also. The following is a 

 brief account of the facts relating to these phenom- 

 ena : — 1st, The luminous meteors were seen in the 

 E. and E.N.E. at 40° of elevation, from 2 to 6 A.M., 

 at Cumana, in lat. 10° 27' 52", long. 66° 30' ; at Porto 

 Cabello, in lat. 10° 6' 52", long. 67° 5'; and on the 

 frontiers of Brazil, near the equator, in long. 70° 

 west. 2dly, The Count de Marbois observed them 

 in French Guiana, lat. 4° 56', long. 54° 35'. 3dly, 

 Mr. Ellicot, astronomer to the United States, being 

 in the Gulf of Florida on the 12th November, saw 

 an immense number of meteors, some of which ap- 

 peared to fall perpendicularly ; and the same phe- 

 nomenon was perceived on the American continent 

 as far as lat. 30° 42'. 4thly, In Labrador, in lat. 56° 

 55', and lat. 58° 4'; in Greenland, in latitudes 61° 5 f 

 and 64° 14', the natives were frightened by the vast 

 quantity of fireballs that fell during twilight, some 

 of them of great size. 5thly, In Germany, Mr„ 

 Zeissing, vicar of Itterstadt near Weimar, in lat. 50° 

 59', long. 9° 1' E., observed, between 6 and 7 in the 

 morning of the 12th November, some falling-stars 

 having a very white light. Soon after reddish 

 streaks appeared in the S. and S.W. ; and at dawn 

 the south-western part of the sky was from time to 

 time illuminated by white lightning running in ser- 

 pentine lines along the horizon. 



Calculating from these facts, it is manifest that 

 the height of the meteors was at least 1419 miles ; 

 and as near Weimar they were seen in the S. and 

 S.W., while at Cumana they were observed in the 

 E. and N.E., we must conclude that they fell into 

 the sea between Africa and South America, to the 

 west of the Cape Verd Islands. 



Without entering into the learned discussion which 

 Humboldt submits to his readers, respecting the na- 

 ture of these luminous bodies, we shall merely ob- 

 serve, that he found falling-stars more frequent in 



