A Remarkable Meteor on November 24

Abstract

I WAS much interested in seeing Dr. Rambaut's letter describing a brilliant meteor seen at Oxford on the evening of November 24. I was travelling along the London to Oxford road at the time, and when passing through Stokenchurch (seventeen miles from Oxford) was suddenly aware of a pale green light of sufficient intensity to be quite noticeable even when looking down at the road. On looking up I saw the meteor just as it disappeared. It presented the appearance of a luminous green ball of about one-quarter the sun's diameter, though this can only be regarded as quite an approximate estimate. My first impression was that the phenomenon was an unusual type of meteor, but on account of the brilliant green colour I immediately afterwards came to the conclusion that it must have been a rocket, and therefore did not unfortunately note the exact time or careful particulars as to the position. I should estimate that the meteor lay about N.N.E. when I saw it, but that the altitude was somewhat greater than the 17° given by Dr. Rambaut. The agreement in time and place was, however, sufficiently close to leave no doubt that it must have been the same phenomenon. The intensity of the illumination may be judged from the fact that the light was quite noticeable to one not looking up towards the sky at the time.