Abstract
FIREBALL ON DECEMBER 25.—A brilliant fireball was visible on Christmas night at loh. 21m. at Bristol. It must have very much exceeded Venus in lustre, for it gave a flash which illumined the whole sky, and in that section of its flight where the greatest outburst occurred it left a streak about 3° long for 40 seconds. The apparent path was from ii5°+34° to 1053°+1°. The motion was rather swift, the course of about 35° being traversed in 2 seconds. The radiant point is doubtful; it may have been at 165°+73°, 2iq° + 75°, 245°+72°, or 26i° + 62°. If the second is the correct position, the meteor may quite possibly be considered to have been a fragment of Mechain-Tuttle's comet, which has a period of about 133 years. Further observations- of the object would be valuable, and should be sent to Mr. W. F. Denning, 44 Egerton Road, Bristol.
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Our Astronomical Column . Nature 104, 448 (1920). https://doi.org/10.1038/104448a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/104448a0