The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1877-12-13
The Sgcseor-..AFain.

Mr. n, A. Newton, Professor OF Mathe
matfcs I'm Yale University, who is perhaps
as well Qualified rs any other man in tn the
United States to enlighten the public upon
such subjects, has written to his brother-in'
law, Robert Stiles, Esq, OF this city.
private letter, from which he has kindly
permitted us to make the following extract !. a.
referring to the meteor recently seen 10
Virginia and North Carolina, 1t highly
interesting as well as instructive.
YALE COLLEGE. December G, 1877. !.
Dear Brother Robert: am very mucn
obliged 10 you for the account OF the tne1eot
Of November Goth, and for the severai eN.
tracts about it from the DtSpatch. WISH
could myself have been with you 10 nave
seen so splendid q sight. Ine iettcr 0,
professor Campbell, OF Washington. and
Too ITn;yersity, gives very good statement
~ the path OF the meteor. through the air.
II we regard the meteor when firstsseen at
Richmond as over the central part OF
pittsvIyania county-say fifteen miles NORTH
OF Danyifie at height Of about seventy
miles from the ground, and that IT passed
before disappearance to pointa little south
OF east OF Danville twenty-five miles distant
and ten miles high-the several accounts
will be pretty we'll satisfied. I cannot re-
conciIe the statement, strictly taken, that 1t
fell perpeadicalariy at Richmond, with the
other statements. suspect that 1t moved
as YOU saw it little southwark as well rs
down. somewhat as II from the centre OF
the watcil-dia! to the seyen-hour figure. III
rot, the Bristol snd other reports are de-
cidedly in error. ~
The BODY would probably have been yisi-
Die even as high as eighty or ninety miles,
but not much, il any, higher. 1t was I'M
doubtedIy a solid mass OF stone OF unknown
size, but which may be thought OF as weigh
ing some hundreds OF pounds. BY its rapid
motion il condensed the air before 1t, and
so developed in the air heat enough to melt
the outer crust Of the stone on the front OF
the mass. As fast as melted the materlal
was rubbed of by the air, and, after help-
ing to form the flame, was left behind
along the track to make the enduring
cloud.streak. The stone itself being firm
enough % resist the condensation, could
remain quite cold. possibly, one OF two
hundred degrees below zero in its interior.
OF course, in such fire, parts Kept crack
ing off. and finally the whole broke up into
small fragments with the terrific explosion
heard at DanYille, Clarksville, Halifax, &c.
Some of these pieces may have reached the
ground in solid form, though that is not
certain. II was in the vicinity / should
take time to search for such fragments
through the country not more than i've or
ten miles from Harmony, in Halifax county.
The stones, il found, will show q
very thin black crust over most OF
the surface, not more than 1-50 inch in
thickness, Of material that was once melted,
and will perhaps show marks OF the flow
OF melted matter over the surface. With
out breaking the stone the interior struc-
ture can be seen, since the fresh fractures
will be pretty sure to show it. They should
not be broken, but carefully preserved for
examination and comparison with other me-
teoric stones. They are to be regarded as,
in all probability, pieces OF some comet that
has been broken up in ages past, and rs re-
vealing to us by their peculiar structure
and material some glimpses OF long and
curious history that we all would like to
know more about. OF course we should
be glad to get for our college collection
and for study specimens OF all these bodies.
The cloud that remained was borne away
by the currents of the upper air. No one
Of the accounts which have seen gives the
direction of the drift. This direction is,
however, always worth noting, as this is the
only way we have OF observing directly
which way the wind blows at heights OF
twenty-five to fifty miles. above the earth's
cY,rSana