A CATALOGUE OF OBSERVATIONS OF LUMINOUS METEORS. 391 
“The night of Wednesday, 10th August, was clear and ca m, and the 
moon set before midnight. The observers were Messrs. Bradley, Byman, 
Baird and i. We were in the open air, each observer having to look, alter, 
as much as possible, one-third of the visible sky. We commenced regular 
observations at midnight precisely, and we continued until break ot ay, a 
3 h 25 m . The following table shows the number of shooting stars observed 
per hour in each third of the sky. That part of the heavens from which 
they darted is mentioned. 
Hour. 
s. 
N.N.W. 
E.N.E. 
Total. 
0 to 1 o'clock in the morning .. 
1 to 2 „ „ 
2 to 3 „ „ 
3 to 3 25' „ . 
48 
-12 
r,7 
2G 
27 
34 
31 
7 
33 
39 
31 
11 
110 
115 
119 
14 
“ Besides the 388 meteors mentioned here, we saw about 20 more during 
the quarter of an hour preceding midnight; wo rejected 15 or 20 dou u 
esses and some escaped us after 3 o’clock, cither from the mornings awn, 
or from other causes. No one meteor was written dowfi twice, alt ioug i 
several were seen at one time by two or three observers. 
“ It must be remarked that the great majority of these falling stats, no 
, 8 P^bably than three quarters, moved in trajectories, intersecting very near 
the group of stars which form the point of the sword of Perseus i ana dunn 0 
cur observations, the apparent point of emanation dill not change i s post 
bun relatively to the stars. Many of the meteor* left trains, and surpassed 
"! brilliancy stars of the first magnitude, whilst some were as brilliant as me 
planet Venus. 
“Towards2“15% we saw a luminosity unusual, hut yet pale, 
!"| rizon ‘n the N.E. This light increased in proportion ns the morning 
1 vauced, and was recognised as being the zodiacal light* Itfl oa 
omplctely undefined, and from the atmosphere being slightly hazy , 
R'on, it was impossible to describe the phenomenon exactly- ‘ , 
bom the horizon to the N.F.., covering the stars Castor and PoUW» ®" 
*achmg up to tbe t aiJI | i n front of the neighbourhood ot 0 Aa ”gre . 
wlipfi U c n; bUt 1,0 cevtftin trace ,,f li S ht Wlis P«*°eP tlble * oUth 
" II ** interesting to mention (although I do not protend that tbere is any 
7 betwcen tliese two phenomena), that there were faint ,aan,f ® s ^ 
varH °I lbe , Aurora borealis, on the 11th, towards 2 o clock, and g 
l,„l. n, oc °°k in the morning, during about. 15 minutes each i ’ . . 
'Rbt d,d not rise higher than from 2° to 5° above the horizon, and entirely 
JWs the west of the northern point. „ . t i ias 
com; ou ® Cc fro, » the above, that the meteoric appearance o g 
n.im d raanifcst 'tstdf here this year, but that it is somewhat less. 
idl 5" ou Observed in Augi.t 1852, were, without doubt, ess than 
would have been, had you observed at later bouts ot tin* mg i • 
Fahri '% I jXtract from the Corrispondenza Scientific** th Foma, • • /' 
ftTl.e observations made by the astronomers of he 
otJehSn? C ® e ’ commenced the 28th July, and lasted each evemngd^g 
lTtZ ■ h0Ur ’ betwe ‘" 9 mtd 10 O’clock: up to the 6th August the number 
' not more than 3. 
e 6th and the 8th August, they counted 6. 
