OF A METEORIC FIRE-BALL. 17
Another observer says the time was “about 10 o’clock.”
Harvard Observatory, Massachusetts, Nos. 102 and 157. Observed by Prof. G.
P. Bond, who says the time was 10 o’clock, the interval between the two observa
tions 20 seconds, and the apparent diameter of the meteor 15.' The mode by
which the positions were determined, viz., S. W. altitude 12° and S. 50° E. alti
tude 10°, is not reported, nor the degree of accuracy with which they are supposed
to be given. 1
Hinsdale , New Hampshire, No. 220. Observed by Dr. J. H. Nutting from a
point “ on Connecticut River, three miles north of Massachusetts line.” He says
that the altitude of the meteor when due south was about 30°, as near as he could
judge, and that it was in sight from 30 to 40 seconds.
Hiram , Ohio, No. 117. The position of the meteor, as pointed out by the
observer, whose name is not reported, was determined by the “ card method,” and
communicated by S. M. Luther. He adds also: “ The point at which the meteor
disappeared, I am informed, was about N. 50° E.”
Hudson , Ohio, No. 121. In reply to inquiries by the author in regard to the
meteor, Prof. Charles A. Young, of the Western Reserve College, writes: “It
occurred during our college vacation, and since my return, I have not been able to
learn of any observations of it in this place, worth recording. A few persons saw
it low in the N. E. horizon; if I understand them right, not more than 10° or 15°
high; but they seem to be very uncertain and indefinite as to the direction of its
appearance, motion, and disappearance.”
Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, No. 125. Position determined by Joseph Saxton, by
the “ card method.”
Isle of Shoals (Appledore Island), New Hampshire, Eat. 42° 58', Long. 70° 37'.
The observer, whose name is not reported, says that the meteor first appeared at
an azimuth 30° south of that at which the sun set; that it passed between <5 and (3
Corvi; described an arc of 145° in azimuth, and Avas several degrees higher when
it disappeared than when first seen. * 1 2
Kingston, New York, Lat. 41° 55', Long. 74° 2'. Reported time of the meteor’s
passage 9h. 30m. 3
Liberty town, Maryland, No. 180. Observed by R. L. Brocket, Avho reports that
the meteor first appeared “ a little west of north, at an altitude of about 25°; that
satisfied if we suppose the variation at the time to have been 7° instead of 6^°. The calculated time
when the meteor was at the latter of the two azimuths is 9h. 52m. 43 sec.
1 According to calculation, 24 seconds elapsed, after the first observation, before the meteor
descended to an altitude of 10°, and then the easterly azimuth was only about 28° ; nor did it reach
the azimuth S. 50° E. till 50 seconds later, when it was out at sea several hundred miles farther
than it was seen by any other observer.
8 The calculated path fails utterly to satisfy this description. Both the stars mentioned had set
some time before the meteor appeared. The azimuth of the sun at setting was about N. 61° W.,
which would make that of the point where the meteor was first seen about S. 89° W., and that of its
disappearance S. 56° E. The calculated altitude at the former point is about 6°, and at the
latter much less.
3 By calculation the meteor passed the meridian of Kingston at 9h. 47m. 47 sec.
3 March, 1869.