A watercolour drawing of the east end of the North Terrace, Windsor Castle. A meteor is seen in three stages passing across the night sky. A group of six figures seen from behind is standing on the terrace watching the phenomenon; one man is gesturing towards the sky. A bench is in the lower right corner. The sheet is mounted on a sheet of paper with grey wash line borders. Inscribed on the mount in pen 'P. Sandby' and in pencil 'Vide the back'. At the far right corner, inscribed in pen in monogram 'WE' (Lugt 2617, the collection of William Esdaile). Inscribed on the verso in pen, possibly by Esdaile: 'EIE' (in rectangle), 'WE' (in monogram) and 'P93 The representation of a fiery meteor which pass'd over London at 9 O clock in the evening of 18th August 1783. /Taken from Windsor Terrace. P. Sandby'. There are two watercolour drawings of the same subject in the British Museum, either by Paul or Thomas Sandby (1904,0819.427 and 1904,0819.34) and another in the Yale Center for British Art, New Haven (7-25-94). Sandby also published an aquatint of the same subject in October 1783 dedicated to Sir Joseph Banks by both brothers (for example, RCIN 814336). There has been some debate about the extent to which each brother was involved in these drawings and prints. The watercolour records the passing of a meteor on 18th August 1783. According to the account of Dr Tiberius Cavallo (1749-1809), 'Being upon the Castle Terrace at Windsor, in company with my friend Dr James Lind, Dr Lockman, Mr T. Sandby and a few other persons, we observed a very extraordinary meteor in the sky. Mr Sandby's watch was seventeen minutes past nine nearest; it does not mark seconds' (Philosophical Transactions, 1784). Cavallo was a natural philosopher; Dr Lind (1736-1812) was physician to the Royal Household; and Dr Lockman (1722-1807) was a Canon of St George's. The passing of the meteor took less than half a minute.