Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-09-16
FROM THE OUTER SPACE
Earth Is Bombarded by Millions Of Stone and
Iron Missiles.
Only a Thin Stratum of Air Protects
Us-OriGin of Shooting Stars
Immense Velocity.
From the Popular Science Monthly.

A thin stratum of air. an invisible armor
Of great tenuity, lies between man and the
menace of pos sible humiliation.
The regions of space beyond our planet
are filed with flying fragments. Some meet
the earth in its onward rush; others, hav-
ing attained incpnceivable velocity, over
take and crash into the whiriing sphere
with loud defamation and ominous glare,
finding destruction in its molecular armor,
or perhaps ricocheting from it again into
the unknown. Some come singly, vagrant
fragments from the infinity of space; others
fall in showers like golden rain; all constf-
tuting bombardment appalling in It's mag
nitude. It has been estimated that every
twenty-four hours the earth or its atmos-
phere is struck by 400, 900. 900 missiles of
iron or stone, ranging from an ounce up to
tons in weight. Every month there PUSHES
upon the flying globe at least 12,0o0,000,0oo
iron and stone fragments which, with lurid
accompaniment. crash into the circumam-
bient atmosphere Owing to the resistance
offered by the air. few of these solid shots
strike the earth. They move out of space
with possible velocity of thirty or forty
miles per second and, like moths. plunge
into the revolving globe, iured to their de-
struction by It's fatal attraction. The mo-
ment they enter our atmosphere they ig-
mite; the air Is piled up and compressed
ahead of them with inconceivable force. the
resultant friction producing an immediate
rise in temperature. and the shooting star
the meteor of popular parlance, Is the re-
suit.
Meteorites vary in size from minute OBJ
jects not larger than a pea to masses of
iron of enormous size. The Chupaderos
meteorite, which fell In chihuahua, Mexico
weighs twenty-five tons. Another, which
fell in Kansas. broke into myriads of pieces
the sections found weighing 1900 pounds
meteorite in the Vienna Museum. which
fell in Hungary, weighs CAT pounds. while
hon of In thn nrtt itch
Museum weighs four tons. The Red River
meteorite in the Yale Museum weighs l $50
pounds. The largest meteorite known was
discovered within the arctic circle by Lieu
tenant Peary. The ESkimoS had known of
1t for generations source Of supply for
iron. 1t was found by Lieutenant Peary in
May, 1894, but, owing to its enormous
weight could not be removed until the sum
mer of 1897. when. after much labor it was
excavated and hoisted into the hold of the
steam whaling bark Hope and carried to
New York, where it has found a resting
place in the cabinet of the American Mu-
scum of Natural History. 1t is believed to
weigh about one hundred tons.
Up to 17I2 me stories of bodies falling
from space We're not entertained seriously
by scientific men So eminent scientist as
Lavoisier, after thoroughly Investigating a
case, decided that it was merely q stone
which had been struck by lightning. Falls
finally occurred which demonstrated beyond
dispute that the missiles came from space,
earth was literally being bombarded, and
that human safety due to the atmos-
pheric armor, scarcely 100 miles thick, that
envelOped the earth. One of the most re-
markable falls during recent years Is known
as the Great Kansas meteor. 1t was evil
IDENTIFY of large size, flashing into sight
eighty or ninety miles from the earth, on
the Goth of June. 1876. over the state of
Kansas. To the first observers 1t appeared
to come from the vicinity of the moon
and resembled a small moon or a gigantic
fire ball, blazing brightly, and creating ter
ror and amazement among thousands of
spectators who witnessed it's flight. It
passed to the east. disappearing near the
horizon in blaze of light. The entire pas
sage occupied nearly fifty seconds, being
visible to the inhabitants of Iowa, Ne
braska. Missouri, Indiana, Wisconsin, I'LL
nois, Michigan. Kentucky Ohio, Pennsyl-
vania and West Virginia
This visitor created the greatest alarm
and apprehension along its path. the blaze
of light being accompanied by repeated ex-
plosions and detonations which sounded like
the rumble and roar of cannonading.