Denton Journal Denton, MD Saturday, January 24, 1880 Page: Front Sodom and Gomorrah Professor Proctor white from Hion, Ill., inder date of December 26th as follows: "The idea that Sodom and Gomorrah may have been destroyed by meteoric downfall is not altogether a new one. I advanced it, but not very seriously, several years ago in the English Mechanic, and it was taken up quite seriously by an ingenious, though rather fiery correspondent of that journal, Mr. E L. Garbett, the well-known architech. He took up the theory precisely in the form in which I had, half jesting, suggested it, viz.; that the meteor system which produced the destruction of the cities of the Plain, was the so-called November system, which at that remote date would have been a September system. It can be shown that Tempel's comet, in whose track the November meteors travel, must have passed near, and may have passed very near indeed to the earth, at about the time which tradition assigns to the destruction of Sedom and Gomorrah. Moreover there can be little doubt that the comet's meteor train was then far compact than it is at present. Again, it is certain that among the meteors of the November system are many which far exceed in size those seen during the display of November 13th and 14th, 1833, some of the falling stars were bright enough to cause distinct shadows to be thrown. Supposing the meteors forming the comet itself, or very near to the comet, to be larger yet, they would probably be able to break their way through the air as the large meteorites do, and if strewn with proportionate density, so as to fall in the form of a compact stream, they would descent as a very destructive shower upon whatever part of the earth's surface happened to be most fully exposed to them. Now it happens, strangely enough, that at the time mentioned in the verse you quote, "The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar; ther. the Lord rained apon Sodom an Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven' - the destroyed cities lay almost centrally on that disk of earth which was turned toward the "radiant" of the November meteors. If ever a special and not very large district of the earth could be so rained upon by meteors that towns in it could be destroyed the catastrophe would unquestionably be attended by just such circumstances as these - that is, the region would be as fully as possible exposed to the hail of meteors, and this hail would be as heavy as possible, which would require that either teh comet itself or a part of its meteor train very close to the comet should be the source of the meteoric hail, In the case supposed the velocity you have mentioned would be far exceeded; for not only does the earth herself speed along round the sun at the rate of 1,100 miles per minute, or more than 18 miles per second, but the November meteors travel with a great velocity - about 24 miles per second - meteorite her almost tilt, so that we have for the velocity with which the meteors rush through the air, something like 40 miles per second. Add to this list when the meteors of November 13th and 14th, 1866, were examined with the spectroscope, the element which was found to be most largely present was sodium, the chief component of our common salt, whence may be derived a "naturalized" explanation of the fate of Lot's wife. Those who take interest in this theory of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah might possibly manage to find some evidence of heavy meteoric downfall in that part of the earth. The search would be as likely to be rewarded with success as that which my esteemed friend, the Abbe Moigno, has suggested should be made for the chariots, ect., of the destroyed army of Pharaoh. |
