S m i t h s o n i a n A s t r o p h y s i c a l O b s e r v a t o r y and H a r v a r d College O b s e r v a t o r y , C a m b r i d g e , M a s s a c h u s e t t s 021 38T h e L o s t City m e t e o r i t e was photographed i n flight and r e c o v e r e d by t h e P r a i r i e Network. F o u r f r a g m e n t s totaling 17 kg have been found. ALI analysis of a t h i r d m e t e o r , No, 405 0 3 , is p r e s e n t e d a s a counterexample t o the above a r g u m e n t 'This mete o r of 1 00 t i m e s the intensity of L o s t City r e a c h e d m a x i m u m light and then w a s extinguished nearly instantaneously. We recognize t h a t t h i s i s a different kind of m e t e o r o i d but have no s a t i s f a c t o r y explanation f o r i t s behavior. P h o t o m e t r i c and t r a j e c t o r y d a t a f o r the L o s t City m e t e o r and f o r a subs e q u e n t m e t e o r (No. 4061 7) with s i m i l a r flight c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s a r e u s e d t o e s t a b l i s h a p r e l i m i n a r y c a l i b r a t i o n of the m a s s s c a l e of o t h e r f i r e b a l l s . T h e r e i s e x c e l l e n t a g r e e m e n t between t h e p h o t o m e t r i c m a s s e s d e r i v e d f r o m t h e m o s t r e c e n t d e t e r m i n a t i o n of t h e luminous efficiency of the m e t e o r i c p r o c e s s , and the dynamic m a s s e s d e t e r m i n e d f r o m the t r a j e c t o r y and the s h a p e of the r e c o v e r e d m e t e o r i t e . It i s unlikely t h a t p h o t o m e t r i c m a s s e s a r e o v e r e s t i m a t e d by a s m u c h a s a f a c t o r ofT h e o r b i t s of t h e s e m e t e o r s a r e s i m i l a r t o t h o s e of m o s t o t h e r f i r e b a l l s . . T H E LOST CITY M E T E O RT h e L o s t City m e t e o r o c c u r r e d o v e r n o r t h e a s t e r n Oklahoma a t 2014 CST on J a n u a r y 3, 1970. T h e f i r e b a l l a t m a x i m u m light was c o m p a r a b l e i n b r i g h tn e s s t o the full moon. It w a s widely o b s e r v e d . Sonic booms w e r e r e p o r t e d 2 to have b e e n h e a r d o v e r a n a r e a of about 1000 k m between T u l s a and Tahlequah.2 W e l l -c o n f i r m e d r e p o r t s of t h e audio event c o v e r a n a r e a of a t l e a s t 300 k m , T h e m e t e o r was photographed f r o m f o u r P r a i r i e Network s t a t i o n s i n Hominy and Woodward, Oklahoma, and P l e a s a n t o n and G a r d e n City, K a n s a s D u r i n g t h e l a s t 1. 5 s e c of t h e t r a i l , t h r e e s e p a r a t e f r a g m e n t s a r e visible on t h e Hominy photograph. The o t h e r , m o r e distant s t a t i o n s e i t h e r do not show t h e end portion of t h e t r a i l o r have insvlficient resolution, The f a i n t e s t t r a i l (111) i s well separated on the photograph frorn the brightest (I) i o r the l.ast I s e c of its trajectory-and can be m e a s u r e d a s a s e p a r a t e object. At m its end h e i g h t ( 2 4 icrulj, the veiccity i s 4 lirnjsec, L he t r a i l of irrterrnediate brightness (11) i ...

This series, Smithsonian Contributions to Astrophysics, was inaugurated in 1956 to provide a proper communication for the results of research conducted at the Astrophysical Observatory of the Smithsonian Institution. Its purpose is the "increase and diffusion of knowledge" in the field of astrophysics, with particular emphasis on problems of the sun, the earth, and the solar system. Its pages are open to a limited number of papers by other investigators with whom we have common interests. Another series is Annals of the Astrophysical Observatory. It was started in 1900 by the Observatory's first director, Samuel P. Langley, and has been published about every 10 years since that date. These quarto volumes, some of which are still available, record the history of the Observatory's researches and activities. Many technical papers and volumes emanating from the Astrophysical Observatory have appeared in the Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections. Among these are Smithsonian Physical Tables, Smithsonian Meteorological Tables, and World Weather Records.

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Multiconfiguration variational calculations are carried out of the electronic wave functions of the a X+ and b 3X+"states of molecular hydrogen, and the electric dipole transition moment between them is obtained. The dipole moment is used in a calculation of the probabilities of radiative transitions from the discrete vibrational levels of the a 'X~state to the vibrational continuum of the repulsive b 3X+ state as functions of the wavelength of the emitted photons, and a comparison is made with measurements of the emission spectra of the v'=0 levels of H2 and of 02. The total transition probabilities and radiative lifetimes of levels u' =0 -20 are presented. INTRODUCI'IONThe a 3Xs+ b'X+transition of molecular hydrogen is a major contributor to the opacity in stellar atmospheres'z and an import. mt source of emission in laboratory experiments and possibly in the ultraviolet spectrum of the Jovian planets. James and Coolidge calculated the electronic eigenfunctions and transition dipole moment for internuclear distances R between 1.3ao and 2.9ao and presented values of the emission spectra and radiative lifetimes of the lowest four vibrational levels of the a Xs+ state. An arbitrary extrapolation of the dipole moment function to other values of R was employed by Doyle' to compute the continuum absorption coefficient as a function of wavelength.We present the results of multiconfiguration variational calculations for nuclear separations R between O. lao and 20ao which we use to determine the emission spectra and radiative lifetimes of the vibrational levels u =0 through 20 of the a Xs+ state. ELECTRONIC %PAVE FUNCTIONSThe wave functions (%"%q) for the a Xs+ and b X+ states of H2 were constructed from orthonormal one-

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