, 1866-12-03
TIE MEIEORS.

Dazzling Details of &he Brilliant Dis
p1ny-SeSen or Eight Thousand Starr
VIAib1e-C1oWncd Hen3., Savans and
the People Generally ou1 Of Bed-D1-
recxIon of the LumlnarIe4-Ereat Hrl-
tain and Frnnco tn Unanimous Con-
1rnlailon OF the HeraId1s Despatch
a Child In the Isle of Wight Sees More
uian Professor Aoomtx, &c.
[From the London Times, November Isl
The fiery shower foretold BY the science Of
America and Europe for The niy yht Of the
1Sth.lsth Of November in this year Was seen
in full splendov yesterday morning between
the hours OF twelve and two. From about
eleven o. clock occasional mateors might be
seem gliding along. the sky from east to west.
but these y ere only the arant eourTiers Of the
great legion that followed at later hour.
ihe numbers increased Ter twelve o'clock
with ercat rapidity. From Pa1dington Green,
. Iaisly open position, 2o7 meteors were
counted between twelve and 1850, and Of
a4ese II sue greater number fell after l2::920.
1he next hundred WIS counted during the slI
m,nntss tnai succeeded the half hour. Soon
aiter thls II became impossible for two peo-
from this station and Doubtless from nosi-
tions of purer atmosphere, aud a wider
horizon, the spectacle wus one of snrns~
sing splendor. Indeed, from q window at
Higbgate, looking n n. E., but with cir
cumscribed view, IN observer counted i'd
X% -
1886, and no less than two hundred In two
minntes, between Il. 81 and 1850.
As the constellation Leo rose over the
houses north Of Paddington green and cleared
itself Of haze, the divergence Of meteor paths
from point within II became obvious, not
merely In the directions Of the streams that
shot from or through the zenith, but In those
that lcft their phosphOrcscent seeming trof1s
in The sky toward every point Of the COM
pass.
Sometimes these rocket.likc lines Of light
would glide ont like sparks flying from an
incaudescent mass ofiron under the blows of
q Titanic hammer, but with the distinctive
features, first of these lingering lines Of illu-
minated haze in their track, and secondly,
Of their rarcly appearing as u they originated
In the region Of the sky from which their
courses evidently divergcd.
Sometimes the meteor was orange and al
most red In its color, whereas the luminous
trail seemed ainiost always, probably by
contrast with the surrounding light, Of u
blush hue. In one splendid instance the
trail, after having nearly disappeared, to-
! Scther with the rocket. head that produced
IT., became again 1T up and visible coin.
cidently with aort ufrcsuseitation Of bright
ness in the body Of the meteor. Now aud
then little illuminated puff ball would op-
pear In the middle Of the constellation Leo,
generally more or less elongated or elliptic
| In form, as 1t seemed to be more or less dis
tant. And at the same time conycrgcnt from
1 au imaginary point that seemed about three
degrees south by cast OF the star Gamma
Lcouis, and one, as near as could be estI.
mated TO snch q point, VAS simply stat
that waxed and Wancd AID disappeared a
l one looked at it.
Sometimes q minute point Of light, like 9
hrehy, would dart with an angular jerkin.
motion and zigzas course hither and thither
but etill us it away from Leo.
| Only about three metcoss were seen duriun
an hour and halfto take direction mani
! testify opposed to that Of these diyerglnn
Multituces. The meteors which shot to
ward the western horizon seemed more bril-
HINT md larger In tllcir courses than thos.
Which drnrTed into the eastern indeed, very
few seemed even to reach The roofs OF ths
houses from behind which Leo had arisen
Ibis was possibly only aE effect Of perspec
tive, or It may have arisen hOm tht
curtailmcEt Of the view. As regard.
the long lines Of light that fingered ID thu
paths Of the neteors, 1t seemed that gcncr
ally they were more dense and brightest
towards the middle OF tho visible path Of thu
4 meteor, While the meteor Itself seemed
1 brightest Just before its extinction, an effect
possibly due to an obscurntion in the middle
Of its course by matter thrown or from it
they went; but this might have been the re
the zenith.
One singular feature in these celestial fire
works WIS the rapidity with which tt,
maximum OF f equency came on and went ol
again.
About two o'clock the mctcors appearet
to have become as scarce as they were u
twelve, though they continued in s1ualle
numbers TN the verge of dayhrcak.
\ From 1886 or 12::45 until about LIS or 1:3(
the heavens seemed vesitably alive witt
stars, rushing In many parts Of the sky, II
groups OF two or three together, or in inmc
d!ate succession Oh each other, seeming Al
though racing over the blue vault. cxcep
that their courses SO rapidly divcr.ed.
The cloud'ess boau1y Of the night neal
London was happy circumstance, on which
VIC may congratulate every watcher of th.
skies, not only as allowing the forecasts 0
Inc astronomers to be thus signal1y ant
splendidfy verified, but still more Us having
we trust, enabled them to take such a store
OF facts regarding the nature of the light
and OF the motion OF neteors, and SO man,
simultaneous observations of them In differ
eRt parts of our Islands, as nay lead to somt
accurate knowledge If their laws and theil
nature, and add one more chapter to ths
| sublime volume Of astronomical physics.