THE LOST COMET AND ITS METEOK-TRAIN. 
143 
great value to his statements. “ In their general features,” he 
says, “ the meteors did not differ from those of the great dis- 
play of November 13-14, 1866. They were, however, obviously 
less brilliant. Their normal colour was white, with a pale train 
tinged now and then with a very faint greenish hue. The head 
seldom equalled in brightness a star of the first magnitude. 
From time to time, however, a meteor of unusual splendour 
would appear, nearly rivalling Jupiter in brightness. In such 
cases the train, especially when breaking up, exhibited a reddish 
tinge. In two instances of large meteors (those of 8h. 13m. 
and 9h. 33m.) the colour of the train was conspicuously green. 
In general, however, there was an absence of the brilliant 
emerald hue which formed so conspicuous a feature of many of 
the larger meteors of November 1866. The time of visibility 
of a meteor did not exceed two or three seconds. In two or 
three instances of bright meteors, however, the debris of the 
train continued visible for about thirty seconds. The arc 
described varied as usual from zero to forty or fifty degrees. I 
was unable to detect any pronounced difference in the angular 
velocity of the meteors as compared with the meteors of 
November 1866. During the whole time of the occurrence of 
the shower I directed especial attention to the region of the 
heavens from which the meteors were issuing, with the view of 
detecting stationary or nearly stationary meteors, having been 
convinced, from my experience of the meteoric shower of 
November 1866, of the facility with which such meteors indi- 
cate the position of the radiant point. Several meteors of this 
class were seen during the progress of the shower. At 8h. 
43m., at 9h. 23m., and at 9h. 35m., absolutely stationary 
meteors were perceived. They rapidly swelled out, without 
any vestige of a train, and then suddenly collapsed. They all 
concurred in placing the radiant point in a position midway 
between y Andromedce and 51 Andromedce, perhaps a little 
nearer to the former star than to the latter. Assuming the 
position of the radiant point to be midway between the two 
stars just mentioned, it would thus be situated in K.A. 26°, 
Deck N. 44°. This conclusion was supported by the observa- 
tions of nearly stationary meteors in the vicinity of the radiant 
point. On the other hand the courses of the more distant 
meteors when traced back, although in general assigning the 
same position to the radiant, appeared in many instances to 
come from a higher region situated in Gassiopwa. Of this fact 
(which is otherwise indicated by the projection of the observa- 
tions) I do not entertain the slightest doubt, my attention 
having been directed to it early in the evening. In order to 
ascertain the time of occurrence of the maximum of the shower, 
it was necessary to count the number of meteors visible. At 
