would  be  the  track  of  a  meteor  seen        ^'        ^•^'         ^'  ^•■-         ®*

first  at  A  at  an  altitude  of  75°  in  the  >^.N.E.,  and  disappearing  or  bursting

at  an  altitude  of  about  40^ ;  while  C  D  might  denote  a  meteor  that  seemed

to  move  horizontally  from  45^  N.E.  to  45^  S.E.,  its  true  course  being  from


Bl


"^


■^


X


A  CATALOGUB  OF  OBSERVATIONS  OF  LUMINOUS  METEORS.     37

iiortii  to  south,  but  vbible  from  the  side.  Similarly  a  meteor  appearing  at
A  might  ID0T6  obliquely  downwards  to  F,  disappearing  at  15°  in  the  south-
eastyftod  be  represented  by  a  line  joining  those  two  points.
No.  6.  Extracts  from  a  letter  from  Professor  Cocchi,  at  Florence,  to
Mr.  Greg.
''At  9  o'clock  P.M.,  ^th  July,  184<7>  when  I  was  riding  from  Prato  to
Floreoce  with  a  relation  of  mine  and  a  man-servant,  an  enormous  igneous
body  appeared  over  our  heads,  rushing  towards  the  north.  Our  horses  were
macb  terrified,  and  we  saw  everything  around  us  as  if  it  were  daylight.  We
beard  no  detonations  after  the  disappearance  of  the  meteor,  which  was  many
times  larger  than  the  moon,  but  a  kind  of  hissing  sound,  not  unlike  the  flying
of  some  bird.  I  think  it  must  have  passed  very  near  us;  at  least,  we  expe-
rieoced  a  sense  of  heat  at  the  time,  and  when  its  light  was  extinguished  we
could  for  some  seconds  distinguish  in  the  air  a  phosphorescent  light.
"On  the  4th  or  5th  of  October,  1859,  I  was  walking  with  my  two
brothers  near  our  country  seat  of  Tarrarossa,  at  about  8  p.m.,  when  suddenly
oor  attention  was  attracted  by  a  splendid  fire-ball  flying  rapidly  in  a  S.W.
