Large Meteoroids Research Articles

Our Astronomical Column

LARGE METEORS.—On October 21, at 8h. 35m. G.M.T., a meteor brighter than Jupiter was observed by Mrs. Wilson at Totteridge, by Mr. C. P. Adamson at Wimborne, and by Mr. H. G. Baker at Wangford. It was directed from a radiant near aCephei, and moved slowly at an average height in the atmosphere. On October 22 at 7h. 42m. G.M.T, a bright meteor was seen from Bristol, Stowmarket, Wimborne, and Plumstead, S.E. It had a very long horizontal flight of about three hundred and thirty-five miles at a velocity of thirty-three miles per second, and passed from over a point"twenty miles north-east of York to thirty miles south-west of St. Valery, France. Its height was about seventy-four miles, and its radiant at 156°+39°. It is very suggestive that the radiant point of meteors from the comet of 1739, as computed by Prof. A. S. Herschel, was at 157° + 39° for October 22; meteor speed = 3g miles per second. The comet passed about 7,500,000 miles outside the earth's orbit.

Our Astronomical Column

LARGE METEORS.—Dr. F. J. Allen writes from Cambridge that he observed a brilliant meteor on September 27 at 10.7 pass rather slowly across the eastern meridian in a nearly horizontal S. to N. direction at an altitude of about 60°. Another fine meteor was seen from London, W., at 10.15 on the same evening. Mr. Denning observed from Bristol on October 4, 8.43, a large meteor, brighter than Venus, travelling slowly from the N. region of Pegasus into Cygnus. The same object was seen at Totteridge, N., by Mrs. Wilson, and it seems to have been rather low in the atmosphere, the height being from 42 to 31 miles, and the length of path 44 miles. The radiant point was at 13°—10° near η Ceti. Bright meteors were also recorded at Bristol, and their paths noted as follows:—

The Daylight Fireball of July 5

VERY large meteors apparently exhibit a preference for the early evening hours. The fireball of March 28 last came at 7.48 p.m., and a great number of corroborative instances might be cited. The majority of these bodies travel with comparatively slow motion over extensive arcs, and are directed from radiant points in the o western region of the heavens.

The Brilliant Fireball of Sunday, March 28

BETWEEN March 21 and 29 eight large meteors were observed, but by far the most brilliant object among them was that of March 28, 7·47½ p.m. Its flight was witnessed by many hundreds of persons from the southern parts of England, as well as from the English Channel, France, and Belgium.

The Brilliant Fireballs of June 14

ON June 14 at 8h. 4m., when the sun was shining, and at 10h. 0m., in the bright moonlight, very large meteors made their appearance. The former gave a startling flash, even in the daylight, and the latter was strikingly brighter than the moon, according to the testimony of several observers.

Our Astronomical Column

SPLENDID METEOR ON JANUARY 25.—Mr. W. F. Denning writes:—“St. Paul's Day, January 25, has been noted in past years for occasionally supplying very large meteors, and it has maintained its character this year.

Our Astronomical column

THE METEOR OF JUNE 1.—Further observations of the large meteor of June 1 9h. 40m. have been received by Mr. Denning from various parts, and they are in very fair agreement with each other and with the values given by him for the height, radiant, &c., in NATURE for June 9.

A February Meteoric Shower

FEBRUARY cannot offer the same attraction as January and April in regard to the occurrence of a meteoric shower of special importance; but large meteors are fairly abundant during the month, and though no exceptionally rich streams are in evidence, there are a number of minor systems in play, and these will well repay attentive observation.

Leonid Meteors

THE nights of November 13–15 appear to have been generally overcast, and to have furnished no opportunities for watching the display of meteors. But November 16 was clear at some places, and Mr. Ellison Hawks, of Leeds, counted eighty-seven meteors between 10h. and 14h., of which twenty-six appeared to be certainly Leonids, while many others pursued nearly same paths, and probably belonged to same stream. Large meteors were recorded at 12h. 26m. and 13h. 12m. shooting from Taurus and Aries towards the planet Saturn.

Heights of large meteors observed in 1906

Astronomische NachrichtenVolume 173, Issue 24 p. 375-376 Article Heights of large meteors observed in 1906 W. F. Denning, W. F. Denning BristolSearch for more papers by this author W. F. Denning, W. F. Denning BristolSearch for more papers by this author First published: 1906 https://doi.org/10.1002/asna.19061732404AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume173, Issue241906Pages 375-376 RelatedInformation

The August Perseids of 1900

OBSERVATIONS of this well-known annual display were much hindered by moonlight, though the weather was generally clear at about the time of the maximum. Our satellite was full on the evening of August 10, and obscured all the smaller meteors. Apart, however, from this interference, the shower of 1900 seems to have been a somewhat scanty one. It furnished a considerable number of large meteors it is true, and of these it is hoped the real paths may be computed; but on the nights of August 10 and 11 observers were somewhat disappointed with the character of their results. The effect of the full moon's influence in practically obliterating a meteoric shower may not, however, have been given sufficient weight. The best night appears to have been August 12, when shooting stars were tolerably frequent considering the circumstances.

A Brilliant Meteor in Sunshine

ON Tuesday afternoon, January 9, at 2h. 55m. p.m., when the sun was shining brightly in a cloudless sky, a large meteor was observed as a conspicuous object by many persons in the south-eastern part of England. Moving in a direction from west to east, it dashed rapidly across the southern sky and finally terminated its career, as observed from several places in Surrey and Kent, when situated under the moon, then in E. by S., altitude about 33″. The rarity of a daylight fireball, and the astonishing brilliancy it must exhibit to enable it to present a striking aspect even in the presence of the sun, lends a special interest to the phenomenon, and makes it desirable to collect all the particulars concerning it.

The Earthquake of December 17

EARTHQUAKE shocks occurred in Worcester at 3.35 and at 5.31 a.m. on Thursday. The 3.35 shock was feeble, of short duration, and was noticed but by few persons. But the visitation of 5.31 exceeded in violence any previous instance of seismic energy here within the present century. There were in the 5.31 instance two shocks following each other with a bare interval. The shocks consisted of a series of rapid vibrations, too rapid to admit of count. These shocks were preceded by a, roar as of thunder. Some describe the roar as that of the noise of a “rushing mighty wind.” My house was shaken with appalling violence, displacing roof tiles, and forcing open a closed chamber door. To me the shocks seemed to proceed from north to south. The duration of the shocks lasted between four and five seconds. Some say the shocks lasted fifteen seconds; but if the earthquake had lasted so long, my house, would have been down. As it was the house was rocked to its foundation, and the sensation was appalling. Persons whose bedrooms faced the north, saw a great light accompanying the earthquake. This peculiarity is by some attributed to lightning, by others to the effect of a large meteor. Mr. Russell Dirrell, of North Piddle, a place seven miles east of Worcester, saw at the time of the earthquake a great blaze of light low in the northern horizon, continuing for two or three seconds. He was unable to attribute the blaze to a lightning effect. At the homestead of Mr. Walters, of Hallow, three miles north of Worcester, the inmates were thrown out of bed, as was the case in several other instances in the same village. Here the shocks were most severely felt at places on the west of the Severn. In Worcester the shocks created general alarm. Bells were set ringing, shut doors forced open, windows rattled, heavy wardrobes displaced, earthenware scattered about, in some, instances broken, but no one was injured. A strong fixed wash-hand basin in a lavatory was split to pieces. The church clock of All Saints, on the east of the Severn, was stopped at 5.15 a. m. As seems to be usual in such cases, poultry and pheasants flew down from their perches-and showed signs of distress, birds flew aimlessly about and clamoured. Graziers noticed that their milch cows were greatly trembling and seemed dazed, and horses ran about the pastures. During the shocks the river Severn here suddenly surged and angrily foamed up to the level of its banks, subsiding to its former level on the cessation of the 5.31 shocks. At Hallow, a labourer stooping to lace his boots was pitched headlong into the fire.

The Meteor and Meteor-Streak of August 26, 1894

THE present year will certainly be remarkable for its large meteors. One of the most brilliant class of these phenomena appeared on January 25, and a fortnight later (February 8) a fireball was seen as a conspicuous object even in the presence of the midday sun, for the time was only 28 minutes after noon. The early evening of February 21 furnished another of these brilliant objects, but the observations were neither numerous nor exact, and all that could be definitely gleaned from them was that the body disappeared at a height of 30 miles over Bolton in Lancashire. On April 22, before daylight had gone, a fine meteor descended over the extreme south-east part of England, crossing the Strait of Dover from Hastings in the direction of Amiens in France. On May 18 a large daylight meteor was observed in Scotland and Ireland; Several additional instances of these striking visitors have been recently recorded, and the Perseids presented a few fine specimens, though the season has been a very cloudy and unpropitious one for all kinds of celestial observation.

Fireballs

THE large meteor of February 21 last, mentioned in NATURE of March 1 (p. 419), was also observed by me at Bristol. The time was noted at 7h. 18m., and the meteor was estimated as bright as Jupiter, but its light was much dimmed by the fog, low on the northern horizon, where it appeared. Its direction of flight was not well determined, the path being short and rapidly traversed in a place barren of visible stars, but it was roughly recorded as from 252° + 53° to 253½° + 49°. Comparing it with the description by Mr. Greig at Dundee, and with notes from North Lincolnshire and other places, it seems the meteor disappeared at a height of about thirty miles over Bolton, Lancashire; but the place and height of its first appearance are not satisfactorily indicated. The probable radiant is in Ursa Major. A good observation from Ireland, or the northwest part of England, would be very useful in assigning the precise path.

Large Meteor of January 24, 1892

IT is to be hoped that further observations will be forth-coming of the brilliant meteor of January 24, 10h. 55m. (described by Mr. T. Heath in your last number, p. 295), so that its real path may be computed. I think there is little doubt the meteor belonged to a shower of Draconids having a radiant-point a few degrees south-east of the star ζ. On the same night (January 24) as that on which the fine meteor was observed, I saw a third magnitude shooting-star, at 7h. 55m., with a path from 324° + 40° to 330½° + 31¾°, and this also belonged to the radiant in Draco. I discovered this shower on the nights of January 19 and 25, 1887, and determined the position of the radiant as at 261° + 63°. There are many other showers from the same point in the spring, summer, and autumn months.

Vapour, or Meteoritic Particle

ABOUT 6.30 p.m. on Friday last, while out in the country, I observed a large meteor falling slowly and almost vertically in the north-north-east. After it had disappeared, half-way between the zenith and the horizon, I noticed, in the strong twilight, a faint phosphorescent trail, which did not disappear, but changed to a straw-colour, like a streak of vapour illuminated by the setting sun. Gradually the shaft expanded in the centre and contracted at the ends, until it assumed the shape of a balloon Continuing to change, it flattened out horizontally like a football, and apparently about half the size; and it looked a little brighter as it became more condensed. This process occupied quite half an hour, and the object remained like a nebulous patch lit up by the sun's rays, until that orb was well below the horizon, finally disappearing about 7.15 p.m. That part of the sky was perfectly clear—there were no clouds except the usual dense bank on the horizon.

The Supposed Earthquake in England

FROM the inquiries which have been made it is now ascertained that the loud noise—as of an explosion—heard over so wide an area on the morning of November 20, and referred to by Mr. Worthington G. Smith in your issue of last week (p. 127), was due to the breaking up of a large meteor, which crossed the north of Herts from east to west, upon a line of which the extreme points are approximately Saffron Walden, in Essex, and Swindon, in Oxfordshire. The meteor was seen by one observer from Hertford, and probably it would have been generally noticed but for the foggy state of the atmosphere. I have undertaken to investigate this matter as far as Herts is concerned, and shall be very much obliged to any of your readers who can give me assistance if they will send a note of their observations, especially as to the direction from which the shock they experienced appeared to reach them.

A Meteor

AT 4.47 p.m. yesterday, whilst returning home with two friends, I saw a large meteor pass slowly downwards in an east-north-easterly direction. Unfortunately it was twilight and very cloudy at the time of the observation, and the “fireball,” as one of my friends called it, was consequently shorn of much of its brilliancy. It was, however, distinctly visible behind a thin veil of cloud, and when seen for a couple of seconds in the open it seemed to have an apparent diameter about four times that of the planet Venus, which, with the crescent moon, were the only other conspicuous objects in the heavens at that time.

Meteors

ON the morning of October 13, at 2h. 26m., I saw a fine meteor giving a bright flash at the end point and leaving a streak for about 12 seconds. It shot from the Lynx towards the pointers in Ursa Major, and while carefully fixing its direction relatively to the stars near, another conspicuous meteor, about as bright as Jupiter, crossed the lingering streak in a path but slightly inclined to it and of nearly similar length. I have never before observed two large meteors almost simultaneous and with paths so nearly identical.