THE GREAT METEOR. 



85 



In the same issue of the Evening Press Mr. Collenette 

 (who, I believe, has been in correspondence with Mr. Denning 

 on the subject) contributed interesting particulars as to the 

 appearance of the streak of light as it drifted slowly across 

 the sky. 



In a valuable contribution to Nature, of March 4th, 

 on the subject of the meteor and streak, Mr. Denning supplied 

 the following particulars : — 



" One of the most notable meteors of recent years 

 appeared on February 22nd at 7.30 p.m. and was observed 

 from the southern counties of England. It was a brilliant 

 object, at first emitting an orange light, varying in intensity, 

 then when about half its flight had been performed it suddenly 

 blazed out with a steely-blue lustre and lit up the foggy 

 atmosphere as though a huge rocket had exploded. It left 

 a short, luminous streak where the chief outburst occurred, 

 but this streak immediately intensified and soon extended 

 along the whole path traversed by the meteor. Becoming 

 bent and contorted, it assumed a variety of shapes and drifted 

 to north-west under the action of upper Avind currents. 

 Diffusing itself into a broad, faint band of irregular form, 

 it was ultimately lost amid the Milky Way about two 

 hours after the time of its first projection. The long duration 

 of the streak is almost without parallel in this country, though 

 the Madrid meteorite of 1896, February 10, left a luminous 

 band or cosmic cloud visible in the sky for 5^ hours ! 



" The meteor of February 22nd was a Leonid, but the 

 radiant is not quite accurately defined, as the flight of the 

 object was very similar at most of the stations, for it slightly 

 descended from Canis Minor to the southern region of 

 Orion. But there is no doubt that the direction was from 

 Leo, and the point of radiation seems well indicated at 

 175° +16° near B. Leonis. Just possibly the radiant may 

 have been at 155° -f 12°, for I saw a fairly bright meteor 

 on the same night passing slowly from 150° + 40° to 

 148° + 49°, and directed from this centre 5° E. of Kegulus. 

 The height of the large meteor was from about sixty to 

 twenty-six miles over the English Channel, about forty miles 

 south of the coasts of Sussex, Hampshire and Dorset. The 

 luminous course was about 135 miles in length, and the 

 velocity 20 miles per second. Several observations indicate 

 a greater length of path and a lower elevation (22 miles) 

 at the end, vertically over a point 50 miles S. of Plymouth. 

 The best estimates for the duration of flight are 5-6 sees., 

 6-7 sees., and 8 sees One bright bend in the 



