Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1889-06-25
SHOOTING STARS.
,ders of the Great Fire-Balls
THAT Visit Our Planet.
r-em.ndous Velocity and Intense
inc" ,,,.,v-A One-Pound Meteor Con-
,ans the Energy of a Ton OF 70 W
Startling Figures.

aer-Startiing Figures.
Great fre-balls are much more hu-
'.o,s than any one would suppose
rs had not paid attention to the SUB
W. Nor need this be a matter oil
Par;sa If it be remembered tina.
lao fre-ball does arrive it is only
w. favorable combination OF circum'
,.noos that any particular individual
!, nrivileged to witness the exhibition.
f. To the brilliant light from some OF
hose great fre-balls. there are numer-
statements. We are not infre-
snentlv told that even the beams OF
w. nil moon are Intellectual by com
'a.son with the blaze Of the meteor
iad we find a high authority asserting
Mot one OF these bodies displayed
sa.b as ..blinding as the sun" But
anr knowledge of the actual illu-
niuating power of meteors is almost
rnovoidable of rather an inaccurate
description. We could measure the
urbt no doubt, with all practicable
orecision if we knew when and where
~ evnect 1t. for then we could bring
suitable photometric apparatus to
hear at the critical moment. In
the absence of any precise in
tormatjom we are forced to make
tho most of such occasional comparl-
SIMS as NAV be available. On the
Goth OF July, 1878, u fire-ball was seen
which created so splendid an illumlna-
ton that 1.-The smallest objects were
visible at Manchester. An eye-wlt-
ness states that when at its best the
sre-bal had the luster OF powerful
electric light seen from distance o.
thirty or forty yards, though at inc
moment the fire-ball must certalltN
have been forty-fve miles away we
can make comparative estimate o
the intrinsic intensity of light when
when received from distance Cl lofty
Eve miles, has briiliancy equal t'
that OF a known source thlrty-nV'
Yards away. 1t is thus shown that the
fre-ball must have emitted more ign
Thin five millions of the elec1rl'
lamps,
Fortunate indeed would the astrono
mer have been who, guided by som'
miraculous presence, had gone to I'M
ancient city of York on the evening 0
the 23d of Februry, 1879, and on tn
tower of the glorious minister spen
the night in observation OF III
heavens. 1t would have been his PRIV
ilege to have witnessed a maJes1
meteor under circumstances OF alino
unique magniticence.
II was at seven minutes before 1hr'
that such few stragglers as the sVreo
Of York still contained saw IL pea
shaped ball of fire travelling across u
skv II drenched the ancient city WI
food of light. The superb 'front.'
the minister never Def re glowed u
60 romantic an illumination. The Il
wonted brilhancy streamed Ihroui
every aperture in every window III
city. every wal1eful eye was instant
on the alert every light sleeper s'a
ed up suddenly to know what was
matter. Even those whom the olaAe
the midnight light had failed to aWai
were only permitted to pro'rac' ~
slumbers for another minute ana
half. Only until an awful crash
Almighty peal of thunder burst .
the town, shaking the doors the
dows, and even the houses themseI
The whole city was thus alor"
Every one started at the noise
that noise was not a clap OF thuh
Nor was it produced by an earthqu'
was merely the explosion oil the
ball which flung itself against inc
mosphere after its unmeasuraole
age through space.
Let us imagine a waytarer IN
streets of Newcastle on the
morning. He is struggling on ms
in dense darkness, and through a
ing storm of snow. An instantal
transformation scene takes y
Suddenly there was light ABOVE
around which rendered the white
tie of the city as bright as SUI
day. The observer Will at ouo'
that this wondrous illumination
lightning. A flash of lightning
for an inconceivably small tract
second. But while u man
count fifty the town glows VIII
strange illumination. And stra
is, for the source OF the light
visible. As the snowstorm wouI'
hidden the sun itself at MD day
the dead of hight it hid the gree
teor. An exquisite phase oil th'
nomenon was presented by the CT
In the hue of the light, which
from u brilliant white to a n'
blue ere it disappeared.
Perhaps the most remarka
stance of the eGploston OF m
recorded in the case of the gre
ball so widely observed in Anne
the 2lst of December 1870
movements of this superb objo
been carefully studied by Pro
Newton and Prof. ID. Kirkwoc
prodigous span of thousan
this meteor tore over the A
continent with u speed of some
fifteen miles u second. 1t or