The Arizona sentinel. [volume] (Arizona City [Yuma], Yuma County, A.T. [Ariz.]) 1872-1911, 1889-05-18
SHOOTING STARS.
Wonders of the Great Fire-Balls
That Visit Our Planet.
Their Tremendous Velocity and Intense
BriIliancy-A One-Pound Meteor Con-
tains the Energy of Ton of Pow
der-StartIing Figures.

Great fre-balls are much more nu-
merous than any one would suppose
who had not paid attention to the sub
iect Nor need this be matter of
surprise if it be remembered that
when fire-ball does arrive it is only
by favorable combination of circum-
stances that any particular individual
is privileged to witness the exhibition.
AS to the brilliant light from some of
these great fire-balls, there are numer-
Gus statements. We are not infre-
quently told that even the beams of
the full moon are Intellectual by COM
parison with the blaze of the meteor;
and we find high authority asserting
that one of these bodies displayed a
flash as ''blinding as the sum-" But
our knowledge of the actual illu-
minating power of meteors is almost
unavoidable of rather an inaccurate
description. We could measure the
light, no doubt, with all practicable
precision if we knew when and where
to expect it, for then we could bring
suitable photometric apparatus to
bear at the critical moment. In
the absence of any precise in
formation, we are forced to make
the most of such occasional compari-
sons as may be available. On the
29th of July, 1873, a fire-ball was seen
which created so splendid an illumina-
tion that 1.-The smallest objects were
visible at Manchester" An eye-wit-
ness states that when at its best the
fire-ball had the luster of a powerful
electric light seen from a distance of
thirty or forty yards, though at the
moment the fire-ball must certainly
have been fOrty-ive miles away. We
can make a comparative estimate of
the intrinsic intensity of light which,
when received from distance of forty
five miles, has brilliancy equal to
that of a known source thirty-five
yards away. 1t is thus shown that the
fire-ball must have emitted more light
than five millions of the electric
lamps.
Fortunate indeed would the astrono-
mer have been who, guided by some
miraculous presence, had gone to the
ancient city of York on the evening of
the 2Sd of Februry, 1879, and on the
tower of the glorious minister spent
the night in observation of the
heavens. 1t would have been his priv
ilege to have witnessed majestic
meteor under circumstances of almost
unique magnifcence.
1t was at seven minutes before three
that such few stragglers as the streets
of York still contained saw a pear
shaped ball of fire travelling across the
sky. 1t drenched the ancient city with
flood of light. The superb front of
the minister never before glOwed with
so romantic an illumination. The un-
wonted brilliancy streamed through
every aperture in every window in the
city, every wakeful eye was instantly
on the alert, every light sleeper start
ed up suddenly to know what was the
matter. Even those whom the blaze of
were only permitted to protract their
slumbers for another minute and a
half. Only until an awful crash, like
a mighty peal of thunder, burst over
the town, shaking the doors, the win
dows, and even the houses themselves.
The whole city was thus alarmed.
Every one started at the noise. But
that noise was not clap of thunder.
Nor was it produced by an earthquake. /
1t was merely the explosion of the fire.
ball which flung itself against the at
mosphere after its unmeasurable voy-
age through space.
Let us imagine a wayfarer in the |
streets of Newcastle on the same
morning. He is struggling on his way
in dense darkness, and through q rag
ing storm of snow. An instantaneous
transformation scene takes place. |
Suddenly there was light above and |
around which rendered the white man.
tie of the city as bright as a summer |
Gay. The observer will at once see
that this wondrous illumination is not |
lightning. A fash of lightning lasts
for an inconceivably small fraction of
a second. But while a man could |
count fifty the town glows with this
strange illumination. And strange it
is, for the source of the light is not |
visible. As the snowstorm would have I
hidden the sun itself at mid day, so in
the dead Of night it hid the great me-
teor. An exquisite phase of the phe-
nomenon was presented by the changes !