The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1877-02-15
The Great Meteor Of Dec. Fl.

The great meteor of the evening of Dec
81 was one of the most remarkable that
has lately been recorded in the United
States; reports concerning it have
been received from about one hun.
dred and twenty stations. From q
brief study of these it becomes apparent
that the meteor entered the earth's atmos
pherc somewhere over the west OF Kansas
or Nebraska; its true course was nearly
due east, and it was last seen over the
State of New York. Its visible track, a
projected upon the earth, is therefore Ovel
one thousand miles long. The times Of
its appearance and disappearance, a.
noted by the observers, are extremely dis.
cordant. The average of about forty five
observations, pretty uniformly distributed
along its course, gives nine hours twenty
six minutes as the Washington mean
time, which may therefore represent the
moment when it was at the middle OF
its visible path. No definite conclusion
can be satisfactorily arrived at with ref.
erence TO its actual velocity In miles
from comparison of the records of dis.
tant observers; but the observations OF
the individual observers, taken by them.
selves, give velocities relative to the
earth's surface of between one and five
miles per second, or two to five miles,
relative to the earth's center, and AZ the
meteor was overtaking the earth in its
annual orbit, its velocity in space relative
to the sun was twenty or twenty five
miles, its movement being toward point
in latitude 200, longitude $50, with ref
erence to the plane of ecliptic. When
first seen, the meteor appeared to be
as large as the moon, but much brighter.
In passing over Indiana, its main
body divided into two portions, and ono of
these subsequently broke into hundred
fragments, which at first kept together in
one cluster, but gradually fell behind each
other, forming a long train in single
file, and IS such passed over Ohio into
New York. The brightness Of the me-
teor was everywhere described as far SUR
passing bright moonlight. No reliable
accounts speak of any noise heard during
the visibility of the meteor; but in from
two to five minutes after its passage q
shock resembling thunder was heard,
which, in the majority of cases, was de-
scribed Us tremendous, shaking the ground
and the houses, and was especially alarm
ing to those who, on account of the pre-
vailing clOudiness, were unable to see the
preceding meteor. The uniform charac-
ter of the sound heard at the stations
shows that it was not due to any violent
explosion properly so-called) but was a
peculiar acoustic phenomenon, depend
ing on the fact that that portion Of the
line described by the meteor when near
est to any observer became, as it were,
instantaneously along length Of several
miles the origin of series of simulta.
neous sounds, which, although in them.
selves comparatively feeble, were concen.
trated into violent sound when they
reached the observers ear. No records
have come to hand of the finding of any
fragments of this meteor, nor is it likely
that any of any size fell to the eartt. as
the main botly evidently passed out of the
atmosphere when over New York, and the
small fragments or sparks that were seen
to fly off were rapidly burned up and dis
appeared in its train.-Aonthly Weather
Rerieso.