Abstract
FROM the accounts in NATURE and in the Times, it is evident that the display of meteors was much finer in the east of Switzerland than any of those mentioned by your correspondents. My attention was first directed to the shooting-stars shortly after 6 o'clock (local time here being about thirty-eight minutes in advance of Greenwich time). For half an hour after that time the fall was continuous, several meteors appearing together. In fact, so many were falling, that it seemed to me hopeless to attempt to count them, but I should think that they must have fallen, on a moderate computation at that time, at the rate of at least 200 a minute. Many of them were especially brilliant, and those falling near the mountains, which completely encircle this village, produced, I presume by irradiation, the curious appearance of passing between the spectator and the mountains. The richest period of the display when, looking from a window, four or five were seen together in one part of the heavens did not last for more than an hour, but the phenomenon continued with less effect until 9 o'clock, when the sky which, until that time had been perfectly clear, became overcast. The height of the high-lying plateau of the Canton Grisons, more especially in the Engadine, and the remarkable absence of aqueous vapour, causes many more stars to be visible here than in the denser air of England, and this, no doubt, in large measure, accounts for the superior brilliancy of the display as witnessed here. This strangely affected the imagination of some of the peasants of this village, one young woman in particular spent the evening in tears and lamentations, momentarily expecting the end of all things.
Article PDF
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
MAIN, J. [Letters to Editor]. Nature 33, 128 (1885). https://doi.org/10.1038/033128d0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/033128d0
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.