294 
SCIENCE. 
tufty balls, resembling cumulous clouds. These white 
heads are invariably bent or turned, as if slightly doubled 
the spot The first sketch was made when the red spot’s 
following end was in transit ; the three others when the 
Fig. I. 
under, toward the south, and are generally partially or 
wholly imbedded in the inner edge of the south portion 
of the equatorial band. These heads soon becon e isola- 
lated into a regular white spot, the train gradually fading 
out. All the objects in the equatorial zone move with a 
very great velocity in the direction of rotation, invariably 
n a contrary direction to that pursued by the slowly 
moving red spot, which is really the only object that has 
a backward motion on the planet. Indeed it would not 
be a bad comparison were we to compare the red spot 
to a mighty city built on the shore ot a vast and swiftly 
flowing river, which is constantly being filled with drift, 
and an occasional glistening mass of ice, tearing its way 
past the city with a velocity of not less than six thousand 
JYor /S'* ft /(, 
Fig. 2. 
miles a day. In such a comparison the city would need 
be as great in area as three-fourths that of our entire 
earth, and the river fully sixteen thousand miles in 
breadth ! 
One of these swiftly moving bright spots was observed 
on Nov. 1 8th (Fig. i)- It had probably existed some 
few days before that date, but bad weather had pre- 
vented observations of the planet. 
As it passed very close to the red spot that object 
afforded a capital means of illustrating its motion. 
On the 1 8th it was situated on a meridian with a part 
of the red spot about K its length preceding the follow- 
ing end. 
This spot was bright with the fainter train following 
in its wake. On the 20th it was near the preceding end 
of the red spot (Fig. 2), and had isolated itself more 
from its train, being partially imbedded in the inner edge 
of the south band. On the 22d it had left the red spot 
far behind (Fig. 3), and was smaller and paler, appar- 
ently the size of satellite I, then nearing transit. By the 
23d it had advanced still further (Fig. 4), and was near- 
ing the west limb when the red spot was central in transit. 
It was smaller and appeared to vary in brightness. 
Bad weather since the 23d has prevented any lurther 
observations of this remarkable object. 
The pen and ink drawings show the rapid progress of 
Fig. 4. 
spot was central. To save space the sketches only show 
the great equatorial band and the red spot. 
E. E. Barnard. 
Nashville, Tenn., Nov. 29. 
THE NOVEMBER LEONIDS, 1880. 
By Edwin F. Sawyer. 
In the years 1846-47 and 1849, at the November 11-15 
epoch, meteors were recorded in considerable numbers, 
doubtless representing the perihelion passage of a minor 
cluster of meteors in the cometary-meteor orbit. Last 
year, both in Europe and America, these meteors were 
found to be unusually numerous from the nth to the 1 5th 
of November, and the earth probably encountered the 
minor cluster of 1846 at its return to perihelion. 
In anticipation that the shower would, this year, 
at the nodal passage, be of some little intensity, 
preparations were made tor observing the same, but 
owing to cloudy weather observations could only be 
obtained on the nth and 12th; but the indica- 
tions, at these early dates, were that a large number of 
shooting stars would be recorded on the 1 3—1 4th, and as 
observed elsewhere such proved to be the case. At 
Cambridgeport on the nth, during a two hours watch, 
from 14I1. 30m. to i6h. 30m., 14 meteors were recorded, 
of which 6 were Leonids. On the 12th, during an hours 
watch only, from i6#h. to in a sky more than 
half overcast, 6 others were noted, equal to at least 15 
Leonids per hour for one observer in a clear sky. At the 
Haverford College Observatory, Penn., Mr. Isaac Sharpies, 
assisted by three other observers, recorded 52 meteors in 
about an hours watch on the 13th from 3ft. 30m. to 4h. 
20m., of which 28 were Leonids. Mr. Sharpies says, 
that at the end of the watch, when the sky become over- 
cast, meteors were falling at the rate of two a minute 
and promised much. 
From W. F. Dunning, Esq., F. R. A. S., we learn that 
the weather was generally unfavorable for observing 
purposes in England at the November epoch, so that the 
observations as recorded in this country have a special 
value, being, so far as heard from, the only ones obtained 
during the dates on which the Leonid shower is in play. 
As in the year 1849, meteors were also numerous at this 
epoch, we may expect a return of the Leonids as a minor 
shower during the next two years. 
Cambridgeport, Dec. 5, 1880. 
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 
[ The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed 
by his correspondents. No notice is taken of anonymous communi- 
cations .] 
THE WHITE SPOT ON JUPITER. 
To the Editor of Science.’ 
The white spot seen passing the great red spot on 
November 18, 20, etc., and situated on the inner edge of 
the south equatorial band, was observed again on 
December 2, the first night for observing since Novem- 
ber 23. The white spot was in mid-transit some time 
