All Resolutions

As observed between midnight and 5 o'clock A.M. on the night of November 13-14 1868.
(Plate 12.)
Artist
- Name:
- Trouvelot, Étienne Léopold
- Dates:
- 1827-1895
- Country:
- France
Illustration
- Subject:
- Science & technology
- Technique:
- Lithograph
- Format:
- Portrait (taller)
- Source:
- The New York Public Library
Book
- Title:
- The Trouvelot astronomical drawings: atlas
- Author(s):
- Trouvelot, Étienne Léopold
- Publisher:
- New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1882
Description
Plate showing a shower of Leonid meteors observed in November 1868. This event is described as follows by the author:[1]
In the years 1866, 1867 and 1868, there were also extraordinary meteoric displays on the night of November 13th. It was on the last mentioned date that I had the opportunity to observe the remarkable shower of shooting-stars of which I have attempted to represent all the characteristic points in plate XII. My observations were begun a little after midnight, and continued without interruption till sunrise. Over three thousand meteors were observed during this interval of time in the part of the sky visible from a northern window of my house. The maximum fall occurred between four and five o’clock, when they appeared at a mean rate of 15 in a minute.
In general, the falling stars were quite large, many being superior to Jupiter in brightness and apparent size, while a few even surpassed Venus, and were so brilliant that opaque objects cast a strong shadow during their flight. A great many left behind them a luminous train, which remained visible for more or less time after the nucleus had vanished.
- ^ The Trouvelot astronomical drawings manual. Trouvelot, Étienne Léopold. New York: Charles Scribner’s sons, 1882, p. 116-117.
Keywords: 1880s, 19th century, astronomy, color, night, reference book


