The Carolina Spartan. [volume] (Spartanburg, S.C.) 1852-1896, 1860-09-06
AerOliteS.

the following interesting account Of th.
visits OF aerolites to our world
Aerolites, as the derivation Of the word
implies, are masses of stone, which de.
scend TO the earth from the regions Of our
atmosphere. They are always apparently
enveloped in swiftly moving fiery globe
of considerable magnitude, which explodes
with great noise, and hurs its stony con
tents over large tracks of our globe. In
some instances the globe has pas ed into
our atmosphere and out again without ex.
piosion and without leaving any resiium
They are solitary in their flight, and their
fall is confined to no geographical locality;
nor do they descend from any particular
regions OF the heavens, pursue any common
direction, or appear at any particular sea
eon of the year. They traverse, usually.
large areas in the sky, and are visible Tor
some time, and over vast extent of terri
tory.
So far rs our knowledge Of them ex
s'nds, their appearance and course are
wholly fortutous. Meteors, with which
aeroiles are often confounded, are n class
OF natural phenomena entirely dis,inc,
from aerol,es. They are commonly known
AS shooting stars, from their resemblance in
color and magnitude TO the fixed stars. from
"hence they appear TO proceed. They are
ot regular periodical occurrence, descend
ing ~ groups, sometimes in showers, aud
come from particular regions in the hea
sens. They are visible but for u very shur,
time, describe but a small arc in the sky.
AMI are seen over very small extent OF
territory. They make no noise and cave
no deposit They are well known To Le Of
harmless character, and excite but iltI.
more curiosity in their appearance than the
fallen snow-nakps.
But the terrible grandeur of a solitary
aeroIi'e moving with planetary velocity in
our very midst, exploiting with the noise
OF many thunders, and hurlng - hail Of
iron globes" and stoay masse, over our
globe, is calculated to awaken in the brea.,
OF every one feelings of awe, and "A ,ieep
and abiding interest in these bodies The
destruction which they are calculated ,o
produce, and the four memorable instances
OF mortais crushed to death in their fall.
tinges their interest with feelings of mel
ancholy a d terror. The danger appre
hended from cometary c"ll,ion-bo,lirs
moving in strict obedience 10 AN inexornLl.
law, and of light and .vapory substance gen
efaIiy-i- nothing compared with the pos
sibIlity of Tue descent of an aerolite 1,l m Il
day, from n clear sky, carrying devastation
IN IFS course. No warning precedes i'll
coming. and ihs swiiiness Of lis descent pre-.
cludeS escape.
When IT Is considered that thrce-fourths
of the suface of the globe is covered with
ltt which tba-a H.. A. II
unmoticed, and Without leaving any trace of
heir TX s,enc.. their recorded numbers an!
the destruction they have produced un "a liini.
ted paIt fits solid ftc" NAV be consider
ed comparatively great The earlie-, record
ell ta,l OF aerniites is among the Chinese
From the year GA before our era. To- 333
after Christ, sixteen of these bodies are re
si'tyrei a' having fallen; while The CIR, ek
ana Roman authors mention only four dur
'ng thus period. The great mass which fell
burning 465 Is. O., on .Egos Potamos. l.
the most cell bracd of antiquity. Il is de-
scrIhrd as being H. large as two mill stones.
and humboldt expresses an opinion that.
notwithstanding The lapse OF 2325 wears.
me ihfac'an aeroiite mass may yet br
found.
An aeroIite in the beginning of the tenth
century fell into the ri..r at Narni. and
projected four feet above the surface of II q
water like huge rock; anil Monaghan
iradiuon Is extant, that =. rocl; forty feet i'm
height fell from Heaven on ,lain near
the great Yellow river in China. In 1903
4 large aeioiite exploded IN Normaudy, in
Fra CO, aud scattered thousands Of lis fr;,y
IEenIN over Il region of lhittv miles square.
Upwards Of two hundred instances ufih.
tall of these bodies in diiirrcut pats of the
world are recorded. Ii must lie remar keI
that even the largest of the masses found.
whether IN ancient ur modern times. AZ.
but irasm' n.s Of the origiraI before the rx-
ploNi"n. lhey have been variously esu
mated in SIZE, before bursting. from a few
hundred feet 10 several miles. They an
proach, and even exceed the magnitude uf
The smallest OF the asterolls. winch is esli.
mated at ab' ut five miles in diameter.
The aeroIic mass is usually warm, some.
times heated to great degree, when it
first falls. They all exhibit "a general iden>
uty III external form. the character aud
color OF the crust, and the chemical com
position OF their principal constituents. with.
out regard to the epoch or the place of their
descent. II is justly considered singular
and striking fact, that aerolles contain no
new chemical element, but contain The
same as found distributed in the crust of he
earth. When first found they have "a thin
black brilliant coating, occasionally veimed
This peculiar color of the external crus,
was noticed by the ancients, and there is
but one recorded instance where il was
wanting. The interior of the mass is usu-
ally OF light gray color-the presence or
absence Of fcertain chemical elements, which
compose these bodies, varying the degree
OF color.
Within the present century, three great
aeroi'es have attracted the attention of the
people of New England. The first. which
exploded near Weston, Connecticut. Dec.
II, 1907, was the subject uf elaborate cal.
CuInIIun by the celSbratpd DIR Bnwdit,h -,