426 
arises which suddenly illumines the whole horizon, appearing 
to the eye the size of the fist, and fading away as suddenly as 
it appeared, falling into fiery nodules; then we perceive that, 
in the apparent calm of nature, various forces are constantly 
active, in order to cause, even in the invisible air, such com- 
binations and combustions, the appearance of which amuses 
the crews of ships.” . . c 
The Reports of the British Association on Meteors from 
1848 to 1853, from observations so zealously collected by the 
late Mr. Baden Powell, show how very frequent are the 
phenomena of fiery meteors, and what remarkable appear- 
ances some of them present. Considering the difficulty ol 
determining the height of bodies presented so suddenly, and 
so transitory in their appearance, it is no wonder there 
should be considerable discrepancy among calculators. <JIm- 
sted thought the radiant point in Leo of the November 
meteors could not have been less than 2,238 miles above the 
earth's surface. Humboldt considers that the heights at the 
points of which shooting stars begin and cease to be visible 
fluctuate between 16 and 140 miles. Professor Brandes 
gives from 240 to 400 miles, and Olbers considers all deter- 
minations for elevations beyond 120 miles doubtful, owing to 
the smallness of the parallax. Brandes ascribes a diameter 
varying from 80 to 120 feet for shooting stars, and a luminous 
train extending from twelve to sixteen miles The relative 
velocity of their motion he computes to be from 18 to 6 O 
miles per second, their motion being frequently opposite to 
that of the earth. 
Haying now described the phenomena of the falling stars, 
and the larger meteors that accompany them, we proceed to 
the consideration of another class. 
The falling stars, and the larger fire-balls sometimes ^associ- 
ated with them, make their appearance suddenly, and, after 
describing an arc in the heavens, are as suddenly extinguished 
without passing below the horizon. No sound is heard to 
accompany this phenomenon. There is another class ot fire- 
balls which are seen to traverse the whole vault ol heaven, 
seen often simultaneously over a large extent of country, 
whose course can sometimes be traced as passing, for instance, 
from one end of Great Britain to the other,— of large apparent 
magnitude, and of such brightness as sometimes to emit a 
light dazzling even at midday, and superior to the light of t e 
sun. They are sometimes seen to burst into fragments with 
an explosion heard over a large area. 
In the year 1676, on the 21st of March, O.S., about two 
