[ 185 ]
SIR,
Read June 7,
1764.
I Am greatly indebted to you for the honour you have done me in sending me your curious account of the late fiery Meteor in Britain, which I received through the hands of my very worthy friend Dr. Franklin. I have perused the account with great satisfaction, in which, as it appears to me, you have determined the figure, magnitude, height, path, and velocity of the Meteor, with as much exactness as the nature of the thing will admit of. The circumstances you mention, p. 259, 260, will, I am afraid, always prevent the attainment of the precision one could wish for in those particulars, so necessary for laying a sure foundation to build a theory upon. The hypotheses hitherto advanced are liable to great difficulties, and the hints you have given in the conclusion towards another appear intirely new, and free from several objections with which the others are embarassed; and l should be very glad to see them thrown together into a just system. If any observations should occur to me, that might throw light on this difficult subject, I will do my self the honour to communicate them
