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Hello All, Me again. Just about to go outside and watch for meteors, thought I would share the latest article I found first. Kind of a strange story... Mark Bostick "The Big Collector"
Newspaper: The Experiment City: Norwalk, OH Date: Wednesday May 4th, 1842 Brilliant Meteor. - The Buffalo Commercial Advertiser of the 11th inst. says: -About haft-past two o'clock this morning, a most brilliant meteor shot athwart the sky, a little to the south and west of this city. When first seen, it was at an elevation of about fourty-five degrees, nearly in the southwest, and thence moved rapidly to the northward, till it reached a point to the northwest of the city, when it bust with a load explosion, resembling the blasting of rocks, succeeded by a heavy rumbling sound for some moments. The meteor was very large, and its light was like that of day. The sky was perfectly clordless at the tume. In the fore part of the evening, there was quite a brilliant display o the aurora borealis. The Buffalo Unionst adds the following: The meteor which we mentioned in our paper as having been witnessed in this city a few days since, appears to have been very generally observed. The last Westfield Messenger contains a very long and able article on this subject. The editor says: "On Monday morning last, about 3' o'clock, we were awakened by a sudden and extremely brilliant light which shone through the window of our sleeping apartment. On opening our eyes, we had a momentary glimpse of a vividly luminous body or trail, which almost instantly passed out of sight, and was gone. We were convinced it was a large meteor, and expected an explosion. We waited from three to five minutes, when a report burst through the welkin like a piece of heavy ordnance standing within a short distance. There was nothing in it like thunder, but a perfect resemblance to the sound we have named. It shook the house sensibly, as it did others, - in one instance jarring a tooth-brush from the window to the floor. Its direction was northerly, and the explosion took place probably, over the lake. The light emitted was nearly as bright as day-light at meridian. The shingles on distant houses were distinctly visible. Mr. Sexton our post-master, was at the time of its passage, assorting the mail, having two candles to furnish him light; but the light of the meteor was so great as to make them appear like burning candles in full daylight. The following rather startles our credulity, but we give it verbalism from the Messenger: "Since writing the above, we have conversed with Mr. Horace Palmer, who was on his way from Dunkirk to this place, when the meteor appeared. He was two or three miles from Dunkirk, when he appeared to be instantly surrounded with a most painful vivid light, proceeding from a mass of florid or jelly-like substance, which fell around and upon him, producing a sulphurous small, a great difficulty of breathing, and a feeling of taintness, with a strong sensation of heat. As soon as he could recoverm from his astonishment, he perceived the body of the meteor passing above him, seeming to be about a mile high. It then appeared to be in diameter about the size of a large steamboat pipe, near a mile in length. Its dimensions varied soon; becoming first much broader, and then waning away in diameter and length untill the former was reduced to about eight inches, and the latter to a fourth of a mile, when it seperated into pieces which fell to the earth, and almost immediately he heard the explosion, which he says, was tremendous. On arriving here in the morning, his face had every appearence of having been severely scorched; his eyes were much affected, and he did not recover from the shock it gave his system for two or three days. This is really a marvellous story, but Mr. Palmer is a temperate and industrious man, and a man of integrity, and we believe that anyone conversing with him on the subject, would be satisfied that he intends no deception, but descibes the scene, as nearly as possible, as it actually appeared. Probably, however, his agitation at his sudden introduction to such a scene, caused the meteor to be somewhat magnified to him. Witnesses here speak of the sparks which were given off; probably one of these fell and enveloped Mr. Palmer. In addition to its light, Mr. Palmer states that its passage was accompanied by a sound like that of a car moving on a railroad, only louder. At Salem, an observer stated the meteor to be "as large as a house"- rather indefinite, but proving it to have been one of extraordinary magnitude. It was noticed at North East, Waterford, and Sugar Grovem Pa.; Harmony, Chautaugue and other towns in this county. In Chautauque an observes describes it as six or eight inches in diameter, and half a mile long. We learn also, that it burst about three miles beyond Fredonia, or about eighteen from this place. The report is, that a fragment has been found, a foot or more in diameter, but we know not the original authority of that statement. If it did burst where it is represented to have done, and it was seen here untill it exploded, its elevation mist have been about thirty-five miles. Its course is represented by all to have been northeasterly. In 1812, a large meteor bust in England, and discharged more than 3000 stones to the ground, some of them weighing twenty pounds. The remarkable stone which fell in Connecticut twenty-five years ago, in day time, weighed near a ton. It was bright and luminois, but did not explode: and rushed to the earth with such force that it sunk three or four feet beneath the surface, making a tremendous jar. |
