Abstract
THE GEMINIDS.—For the greater part of the evenings of the 10th, 11th and 12th of this month, clouds prevented observations of the Geminids in London. Late on the night of the 12th, however, when the sky became to some extent clear, a brief watch of an hour, from 11h. 30m. p.m. to 12h. 30m. a.m. G.M.T., disclosed the fact that these meteors were very much en evidence. Between 11h. 30m. and 12h. 5m. no less than twenty-four Geminids were observed, four of which were of great brilliancy and brighter than a first magnitude star. The direction of observation was necessarily restricted towards the north-west. Curiously enough, a further watch from that time until 12h. 30m. was only rewarded by the observation of one meteor, and that not a Geminid, which gave one the impression that the shower had terminated. Clouds prevented further observation. Whether the shower was more brilliant earlier in the evening cannot, so far as this place of observation is concerned, be stated. Another observer, Mr. W. E. Rolston, of the Royal College of Science, South Kensington, was also surprised at what appeared to be quite a shower of meteors on the same evening. He recorded the appearance of several meteors during the interval 11h. 15m. p.m. to 12h. 20m. a.m. G.M.T., one of which, as he describes, “an exceptionally long and bright one, leaving a long trail of reddish sparks, which lasted for about two seconds.” The same observer also mapped nine true Geminids on the night of the 9th.
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Our Astronomical Column. Nature 59, 157–158 (1898). https://doi.org/10.1038/059157a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/059157a0