The August Meteors

Abstract

As noted in NATURE, vol. xxvi. p. 378, I observed a bright display of meteors on the night of August 6, at Aberfeldy. On the 7th the sky was overcast with dense clouds all night; but on the following night I saw a more brilliant shower of meteors than on the 6th, with this difference that the meteors of the night of the 8th were mostly of several seconds' duration, and generally left a long, bright train of light behind; also, in place of being on the north of the Milky Way, as on the 6th, they were chiefly on the south of it. A very large and bright meteor burst out about half way to the zenith, and moved nearly horizontally from the south-east towards the west, leaving a long shining streak behind, and lasting close on fifty seconds. I watched the nieteors for the next three nights from the parish manse of Logie-Almond, and witnessed on each night (9, 10, and 11) a gorgeous shower. On the evening of the 10th, before the twilight was quite gone, I noticed thirteen very large meteors during the space of a few minutes, although my view of the heavens was very much intercepted by trees and by the manse. Between 11 and 12 o'clock a meteor considerably larger and brighter than Venus under the most favourable circumstances, sailed over the southern heavens, leaving a long train of light which lasted fully a minute. Its position, time, and appearance, were nearly the same as those of the large meteor I saw at Aberfeldy on the night of the 8th. I have not for years, during any month, witnessed such a gorgeous display of meteors as I have seen on the nights specified in August last. But I have scarcely seen any since, except a few bright ones on Sunday night, September 17, at High Blantyre. The display of the August meteors was of a very short duration on each night, and after 12 o'clock not one scarcely could be seen.