Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1892-10-07
METEoRs AND METzoRITEs.
A Mine OF the Latter Discovered In Ore
contacts About Meteors.
Hdfhfn1tOn Star

contacts About Meteors.
Harrington Star.
A handful Of small meteorites was re-
Geological Survey in Washington from
a man out In the northeast corner Of
Oregon. He said that They were loose
specimens from a nickel mine that he
had discovered and he wanted them as
sayed, because there were vast quanti-
ties more in the place he got them from.
Mineralogist Day is under the impress
sion that, for the first time In scientific
history, mine Of meteorites has been
struck.
1t is not surprising that the finder
should suppose he had lighted upon sur
face indications Of nickle, after a rude
assay, inasmuch as these projectilcs
from the heavens, though consisting
mostly Of iron, contain usually a large
PERCENTAGE of the substance so COM
monty used as metallic veneer. The
handful in question are about 65 per
cent, iron, 80 per cent, nickel, and the
rest cobalt, which last is metal some
what resembling nickel. The proper
tion Of nickel is uncommonly large for
meteorites.
DR.. Day believes that the Oregon man
must have come up gully, into which,
under very extraordinary conditions, a
great number of meteorites had been
drifted by the action Of water from
vast eIpanse of hillside where they had
fallen. Hailstones are often similarly
piled up. There is no difficulty in de-
termining the fact that the specimens
discussed are meteorites, inasmuch as
such bodies are nearly always composed
of Just about the same materials In def
mite proportions, though why no one
has ever been able to explain.
Meteors are very curious things.
The ordinary ones called shooting" or
failing stars" mostly are consumed
before they reach the earth. They take
fire in passing through the atmosphere
by friction through the air. On any
fine night one may see an average OF
eight or ten OF them In an hour, while
a practical observer will catch sight OF
twice that number. At intervals the
earth passes through great meteor
trains on its passage through space In
the tremendous journey the solar system
is making toward the constellation
Hercules, In the north, and on such oc-
casions the display Of celestial fireworks
is amazing. AS many as 10, 900 meteors
have been observed within two hours.
But the most interesting meteors are
the big ones, naturally. One such is an
event. 1t traverses the sky in a flame,
usually explodes with defamation, and
finally buries itself in the ground.
Sometimes it explodes before reaching
the earth. Tho gigantic meteor known
historically as L'Aigle, burst over
France in 1903 and scattered its mater
ial over seven miles square. The aver
age distance from the earth OF the
meteors called shooting stars" is about
sixty miles, and their rapldity OF motion
varies from ten to fifty miles second.
The earth's rate OF progress In It's orbit
is nineteen miles per second. There is
upon the earth a continuous rain OF
meteorites always, and 1t has been esti-
mated that 90, 000,0 900 such, big enough
to be called shooting stars II seen at
night fall upon this planet every twenty
four hours.
The appearance Of a really big me-
ing. From time to time such monsters
from outer space alight upon the earth
and occasion sensation. For example,
on the evening Of December 2, 1875, peo-
pie in Kansas saw bright ball Of fire
at about o'clock, rising in the western
sky near where the moon was setting.
1t grew in brilliancy as 1t rose, drawing
everybody out of doors. Suddenly 1t
passed over head, dropping into the
southwest and taking about two minutes
for its passage.
1t was seen to pass by the inhab-
itants OF Nebraska, Iowa. Missouri,
Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Ken
lucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsyl-
vania and West Virginia. In the
meteor's path, four or five minutes after
its passage, were heard loud explosions,
like distant cannonading, thunder or the
rafting Of empty wagons over stone
roads. So loud were these sounds that
beasts were frightened. Over Central |
Illinois the fire ball was seen to break |
into fragments like rocket, and over |
Indiana and Ohio 1t formed a flock or
cluster OF meteors forty miles long and |
FIVE miles broad.
Ordinarily, such great meteors as |
these drop stones, Of which six or eight |
each year are big enough TO find places |
in the museums OF the world. The big
gest one ever picked up IS mass OF iron
and nickel weighing 1,200 pounds.