Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1833-11-19

Of the Heavens; while there appeared no 'mnution In
the nuWbet VI the fixed number ot the meteors
greatly exceeded that af opary fixed lights. and
continued TO do so until the rug oil the sun rendered
them invisible -.
From this statement, I would hszad the conjecture,
that While stationary these eieors are not vi'ibe aud
are only rendered apparent by commencing their course
And from the clearly dned outline which they exhibit,
cannot think them ot the nature Of the phophorescent
lights sometimes oil electricity but rather suppose
queny fallen from the ilmitab region oil the sky upon the
suriare Of the Garth Various authentic accounts may be
found every philosophical treatise OF Stones or metallic
ons which have at various times isllen from the
usually accompanied by streaks OF light
the shooting starbcsng evident marks diffusion ig
milton in its passage pre- Scepcism
no, demand more proof or more accurate de-
than have been given Of these phenomena the work
Caraa (De Varietae Rerum) he informs u.s. that he
which weighed go pounds, and another much more. Hal
ley, Southey, Howard aud many others give similar
counts But whether these bodies produced by exha
ations from the earth, have supposed whether
they revove around the earth around the
and occasionally fall whether they are formed from,
the vast quantity Of DUST &C. from the volcanoes aud
consolidated In the whether in fact, these
neteors caused by the firing Of train Of nilamablo
vapour which has gradually risen from the earth and ac
cunuated In the higher regions, 10 matter Of hypo
thesis The lights Of philosophy have instructed
will offer any explanation, as the coinage Of my own
BRAIN The oldest remember nothing similar to the
of this morning, has philosophy recorded
such freak Of Nature, SO far the researches oil this
writer has extended.
This be the age Of inves,ig alton and reason
and are here furnished with curious problem for
luCn Of the nature situation and number Of these
teorsofthe causes which at that time many hous
no,ion entirely ignorant Were the
appearances observed in different parts Of this State Too
many pc them In this neghborhood, (for have
sdy ccnversed with 25 80, respectable credi
BILE. who give the accoun 10 leave for beev
ing il to have been an optical illusion. But haste compes
confused sketch Of appaton truly sublime and APP
palling. II you have any doubts the authenticity OF
this statement you at liberty to gire my to the
public.
Halifax, Nov. 18th, 1883.
A WONDER THE HEAvENs!-The inhabitsnts OF
beds, by the ringing Of the Church Bell at half past five
in the morning Of the l2th inst Our first sensation
alarm Of fire; but what could equal surprise and awe,
on reaching the door, TO find that II not village,
but the Heavens that fire Yes, the Heavens,
tho atmosphere, above, arousd kinding into nnune
rable balls OF rolling fire. The night cear the
shining brightly, no was heard but the
whole vsui OF Heaven filled withbrigh meteors like
stars falling from Heaven thick IL ap
deared as u all the stars falling rapidly fUm high
and becoming extnguishe before they reached the earth
All have those bright meeors, called shooting
millions OF them. he can form idea Of the submi,y
Of the scene. commenced early in the night and
tnued till obscured by the rising dawn Of day, but was
brightest about o'clock in the morning, which time
broad meteor passed from east wcs and remained for
some minutes like bright bean" suspended over our
similar Phenomenon was noticed by Baron
Humboldt at Cumana in s. America, on the MORN
ing of the t0 elh .NoUember, 1893. On the 9th Oc-
tober, he and his'companion Bonpland observed an
Eclipse. On the 4th November, they were startled
by two shocks of an Earthquake And then they
were entertained by the shooting stars, Of whish
they give ,he following account:
"The reddish vapour which appeared about sunset,
ed on the 7h November. The atmosphere then assumed
its former purity; and the night Of the llth cool and
extremely beautiful Towards morning very exraori-
nary display of luminous in the east
by NJ BonplaDd who had risen TO enjoy the freshness OF
the air in the gallery Thousands Of fire balls and falling
stars succeeded each other during four hours, having
irn,p
extending ftom the east 80 degrees either side
They above the horizon EN- e. and at E. descb-
ed of various sizes, and fell towards s.
ing height Of 400, and all exceeding 25e or 800 No
trace OF clouds be seen, and very slight easeriy
wind blew in the lower regions OF the atmosphere All
the meteors left luminous traces from FIVE TO ten degrees
in LENGTH the phosphorescence of which lasted or
eight seconds The fire balls seemed to explode, but the
largest disappeared without scintstion; and many the
falling had very distinct nucleus as large as the
disk Of Jupiter, from which sparks emitted. The
light occasioned by them was whte.-an effect which
must be attributed 10 the absence OF vapor stars of the
first magnitude having, within the tropics, much p,ler
hue at their rising than ip EuropeAs the inhabitants Of
CumaRa leave their houses before four TO attend the first
morning mass, of them witnesses of this phe.
noinenon, which gradually ceased soon AFTER although
some we're I I I a" hour before sun
hot, and r the evening the reddish vspor appeared in
the horizon and to the height Of lac This the
last time it'was that year..
1t is remarkable that those luminous meteors
were seen on the same night at various points Of s.
America-in N. America as far lat 80 deg. 42.-In
Labrador and Greenland, vast quantities of re-bas
were MISC seen-and i'm Germany, near Weimar,
some falling stars having very white light were
seen between and i'm the morning Of the 18th
Nov.-Thc conclusionto which Humboldt arrives, is,
that Calculating from these facts it is manifest that
the height of the nceors least ID 10 miles, and
ms near Wenar they were seen in the :. and s. W.,
while at Cumana they were observed in the ~ and
N. E.. we must conclude that they fell into the sea
between Africa and South America, TO the west of
the Cape Verd Islands"
The Phenomena, which appeared i'm this City in
lsO3 is thus described III the Virginia Gazette of the
Odd Of April of that year:
'Tbis electric phenomenon observed Wednes-
day morning last at Richmond and its vicinity, in
that alarmed many, and asioDsed every person who
| beheld il. From until three in the morning. those
starry meteors seemed to fall from every point in the
heavens in such numbers TO resemble shower OF sky
rockets. The inhabitants happened al the hour TO
be called from their houses by the fire BELL which was
rung account OF fire that broke in one Of the
rooms Of the Armory but which speedily exinguisi-
ed Every one, therefore, had opportunity Of witness
ing scene OF nature which before displayed
In this part Of the Globe and which, prob bly, will
appear again. Several of those shooting we're
companied with train OF FIRE that Illuminated the sky for
considerable distance. One part in appeared TO
tall from The Zenith OF the apparent size Of ball Is inches
in dismeer tina, lighted for several seconds the whole
hemisphere During the continuance Of this remarkable
phenomenon, Kissing noise in the air plainly heard,
and several reports, resembling the discharge Of pistol
Had the city bell not been ringing, reports would pro-
badly have seemed much louder The sky rearkab
clear aud serene, and the visible fixed stars numerous
| through the whole night. We anxious TO know al
what distance from Richmond this pe extended.
Ii Is hoped that persons who have remarked II in other
places will not neglect to inform the public Of the psreu