Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1899-12-04
FACTS ABOUT METEORS

meteors that are constantly pelting
the earth. Most of these meteors are
small. They come rushing through
space, strike the atmosphere, and the
friction against the molecules of air
heats them to white heat, and sets
them ablaze. Sometimes part of one
may reach the earth; but as rule
cosmic dust, drops upon the surface.
One of the earliest known meteors fell
in 204 B. G. in Phrygia where for a
long time it was worshipped. It was
carried to Rome and was supposed to
be messenger from the gods. Livy
describes shower Of meteoric stones.
The people were greatly alarmed and
the senators were demOraliZed and
declared nine days festival Ito pro-
pitiate the gods. There is at Mecca a
meteorite which fell in 600 A. d. and
is still worshipped by the faithful. In
Chinese literature there is mention of
meteors which fell GA B. @. The
Oldest known meteorite which was
EnsisIeim, Alsace, Germany. In 1892
it came crashing down through the air
with a roar that FRUSTRATED the peas
antry with fright. 1t buried itself
deeply in the earth. 1t weighed 260
pounds and hangs today in the parish
church.
The Chupaderos meteorite, which
weighed twenty five tons, fell in Chi
huahua, Mexico. The largest meteor
tie known is the Peary stone which
weighs approximately one hundred
tons. The stone of Canon Diable
weighs at least ten tons and explod ed
high in air, the pieces being found all
over the surrounding country. In
Italy several instances are known of
the loss of life from meteorites. A
peasant was sitting in his cabin and
was killed by an iron mass that crash
ed through the roof; the act was re-
garded as a visitation of divine anger.
The city of Milan is perhaps the only
one that has been struck by meteor
tie. A meteorite Of several pounds
weight fell in the heart Of that city in
the year 1860, on the authority of Paola
Maria Tezzayo, and struck FRANCISCAN
monk.
More remarkable are the falls at sea.
That ship should be struck would
seem an extraordinary chance, yet
Swedish ship was so struck, the stone
killing two of her crew. On Dec. 1,
1896, the ship Walkomming was sail
ing from New York to Bremen when
her officers noted a brilliant meteor
that appeared to be bearing down on
the vessel from southeast to northwest.
1t passed with loud roar and kissing
sound and plunged into the sea ahead
of the ship. That it was a meteor of
large size was evident, for a few min
utes later the ship was struck by
tidal wave. Even more remarkable
was the experience of the British ship
Cawdor, which reached San Francisco,
Nov. 20, 1897. During a severe storm,
a large and brilliant meteor was OBJ
served rushing down on the ship, and
with roar and filling the air with the
fumes of sulphur it passed between
the masts of the ship and fell into the
sea not fifty feet from the rail.
One of the greatest curiosities pos
sessed by man to-day is a supposed
fragment of comet in Mazapil, Mex
leo. The fragment is sbelieved to be
part of the tail of Biela's comet. In
1916 something happened in space; a
wreck occurred; Biela's comet may
have collided with another comet; in
any case the comet divided and many
living observers remember seeing the
two parts separating. Some fatality
pursued one part of the comet and it
n ct it's fate in Infinite space, literally
went to pieces and became a wreck
On the shoreless sea of space. Astron-
omers predicted that if the comet
Itself did not appear in 1872 its wreck
age would become visible as shooting
stars, and this prediction was realized
as on Nov. 81, 1872, there
burst from the heavens a cloud of
shooting stars. During the display
one piece dropped on the earth and
was secured at Mazapil, Mexico, and
was declared to be part of the great |
The average comet Immediately |
after its fall is intensely hot; but at
least one, which was handled imme-
1iately after falling still held the
intense cold of space. A few men can
say that they have experienced this.
A meteorite exploded above Dhurm-
'ala, Kangra, Punjaub, India, in 1860,
md a section was pickedup immedi- |