Virginia Argus. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1796-1816, 1809-06-06
DlrglJala arga5.
R &c H M o Nd.
TUESDAY, June 9, 1909.
FOR THE VIRGINIA ARGUS.

"sraiiy treated bv philosophical writer's
under the head of meteors. The latest au
'nors however agree, that the phenomena
OF shooting stars and meteors are very DIFF
'erent. The attitudes of shooting stars are
much higher and generally the same. at
least two hundred miles. The attitudes of
meteors are much lower and seldom exceed
NIFTY miles. In the Acts of the Academy of
sciences at Paris for 1771, there is an ac-
connt OF meteor, that was seen on the 9TH
OF July OF that year, which was observed
10 nave been 81 miles high when it began.
ana ~ when it exploded. The celebrated
meteor OF the 18th of August 1888, which
was seen throughout all Europe, had an all
tltude at its greatest height of Sc miles,
aiIing stars also are observed to move in
every direction, but meteors, at least those
which have been accurately observed, have
direction from west to east Both these
phenomena may readily be accounted for
oy the rotatory motion ofthe Earth. Shoot.
ing or falling stars, as observed in nv
last number, are only electric matter or
sparks produced in the highest regions of
me atmosphere, and appear in greatest
numberin that part of the atmosphere.
winch belongs to the hemisphere of the
earth that moves with greatest velocity.
Neteors on the contrary have been ascer.
tanned to consist of stony matter. The
following extract is from the Ath volume of
Gavallo, which is copied from paper by
Lloyd Williams, esq. in the Philosophical
Transactions for 1902.
.On the 18th of December 1898, about
O'Clock IN the evening, very luminous
meteor was observed in the heavens, by the
inhabitants of Benares, and the parts adja-
cent, in the form of large ball of fire :.
.hat 1t was accompanied by loud noise,
resembling thunder and that number of
stones We're said to have fallen from it,,
near krakhut, village on the north side
OF o. ,Ioomty, about IL miles from the city of
Benares.".
70, these stones Ihave seen eight, near.
~ perfect, besides parts of several others.
which had been broken by the possessors ~
distribute among their friends. The form
OF the more perfect ones, appeared to be
that OF an irregular cube, rounded off at
the edges; but the angles were TO be OBJ.
served on most OF them. They were of va
rious sizes, from about three to upwards of
-FOUR inches in their largest diameter; one
OF them measuring 4 Ia inches, weighed
pounds twelve ounces. In appearance
they were exactly similar externally. they
we're covered with hard black coat or
increstation, which in some parts had the
appearance of varnish or 5itumen; and on
most OF them were fractures, which, from
their being covered with a matter similar.
TO that of the coat, seemed to have been
made in the fall, by the stones striking a.
gainst each other, and to. have passed
through some medium, probably an intense
neat previous to their reaching the earth"
" shall copy few more extracts from
the same volume of Cavalo, with the in.
tention of establishing the fact of stones
falling frequently from the atmosphere, and
that meteors consist of stony substances.
Afterwards l shall shew the probability of
the stones having been originally projected
from volcanoes on this earth and to have
fallen on parts of the Globe very distant
from those from whence they were projec-
ted owing to the opposite hemispheres of
the earth moving with different velocities
for 1t the motion of the earth was uniform
every projected body must fall in the spot
from whence it was projected.
"The well known and celebrated Car.
dan, in his book de Uorietate rerun, lib. IA.
cap. ~, tells US, that he himself, in the
year 151e, had seen 100 stones fall from
heaven; among which one weighed 40 &
another 90 pounds; that they were mostly
OF an iron colour, and very hard, and smeit
OF birthstone. He remarks, moreover,
that about three o'clock, great Are was
ave O'Clock the stones fell down with
rushing noise"
the Able Stuty, assistant in the impe-
rial cabinet of curiosisies at Vienna, in a
book printed at Leipsic in 1890, describes
two stones said to have fallen from the
clouds one in the Eichsfedi county in Ger
many, aud another in the Pechin circle in
Bohemia in July 1853. He also describes
two more which were seen to fall not far
from Agram, the capital of Croatia in Hun /.
gary; concerning which, he relates that
the bishop of Agram caused seven eye wit.
nesses to be examined upon oath"
1T is related in the history of the AGA.
deny of sciences 1869. p. 20, that three
masses fell down with thunder, in provinces
very distant from one another; and winch
were sent to the academy in 1869. They
were sent from Maine, Artois, and Cofen-
Tin; and it is affirmed, that, when they fell,
Kissing was heard, and that they were
found hot. All three were like one anoth
err; all three were Of the same colour, and
nearly OF the same grain, & small metallic
and pyritical particles could be dis ingulsh-
ed in them and externally, all three were
covered with hard ferruginous coat, and
on, chemical investigation, they were found
to Contain iron and sulphur"
son the ID h of September. 1868, about