Page 621 - 89 history of astronomy_opt
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a second[19] was traversing a cold nebulous
                                         atmosphere, and was heated to incandes-
                                         cence by friction, like a meteor in our atmo-
                                         sphere, leaving a luminous train behind it.
                                         It almost disappeared, and on April 26th it
                                         was of the sixteenth magnitude; but on Au-
                                         gust 17th it brightened to the tenth, show-
                                         ing the principal nebular band in its spec-
                                         trum, and no sign of approach or recession.
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