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Ordinary Meeting, December 1st, 1863. 
E. W. Binney, F.R.S., F.G.S., President, in the Chair. 
A Paper was read by J. P. Joule, LL.D., entitled “Note 
on the Meteor of February 6, 1818.” 
This meteor is noticed in Mr. Greg’s very complete list of 
these phenomena in the British Association Report for 1860. 
The account of it is, however, given at greater length in the 
Gentleman’ s Magazine , a periodical which I think is not 
included in the large number of works consulted by Mr. 
Greg. This meteor is one of the few which have been seen 
in the day time, and is also interesting as having been 
one of the first whose observation afforded materials for the 
estimation of its altitude. In the work just referred to it is 
described as follows : — 
u At two o’clock p.m. a large and luminous meteor was 
seen descending vertically from the zenith towards the hori- 
zon, in the - northern part of the hemisphere, by persons in 
the neighbourhood of Cambridge. The most remarkable 
circumstance attending this phenomenon is, that it was thus 
visible in broad daylight, the sun shining at the same time in 
great splendour, in a cloudless sky. The same meteor was 
seen at Swaffham, in Norfolk, at the same hour. It was seen 
also at Middleton Cheney, near Banbury, in the county of 
Northampton, not in the zenith, but perhaps 45° from it, in 
the north eastern quarter of the heavens, shooting along 
towards the north. It seemed to be divided into two before 
it -became extinct.” 
The distance between Middleton Cheney and Cambridge 
in a straight line is 61 miles; which, therefore, will be the 
elevation of this meteor above the surface of the earth, accord- 
ing to the above observation. 
The phenomena presented by meteors have for a long time 
occupied a good deal of my attention. Many years ago I 
published my opinion that they arise from the resistance of 
Proceedings— Lit. & Phil, Society— No. 7.— Session, 1863-64, 
