The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-10-14
FROM THE OUTER SPACE.

Only Thin Stratum Protects Us-Origtn
of Shooting Stars-Immense Velocity.
From the Popular Science Monthly.
thin stratum OF air, an invisible armor
of great tenuity, lies between man and
the menace of possible humiliation.
The regions of space beyond our planet
are filled with flying fragments. Some
meet the earth in its onward rush: others,
having attained inconcevable velocity,
overtake and crash into the whirling
sphere with loud defamation and ominous
glare, finding destruction in its molecular
armor, or perhaps ricocheting from 1t
again into the unknown Some come
singly, vagrant fragments from the in
fnfy of space: others fall in showers
like golden rain; all constituting bonn
harding appalling in its magnitude. 1t
has been estimated that every "a hours the
earth or its atmosphere is struck by AGO.
100000 missiles of iron or stone, ranging
from an ounce up to tons In weight. Ev-
cry month there rushes upon the flying
globe at least - 900, 900 900 iron and stone
fragments, which, with lurid accompani-
ment, crash into the circumambient at
mosphere. Owing to the resistance offer
ed by the air few of these solid shots
strike the earth. They move out of space
with a possible velocity of so or 40 miles
per second, and, like moths, plunge into
ton by its fatal attraction. The moment
they enter our atmosphere they ignite;
the air IS piled up and compressed ahead
of them with inconceivable force the re-
sutant 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. Mexi-
co. weighs % tons. Another, which fell
in Kansas, broke into myriads of pieces,
the sections found weighing 1900 pounds.
A meteorite in the Vienna museum, which
fell in Hungary, weighs CAT pounds, while
the Cranbourne meteorite in the British
museum weighs four tons.
The largest meteorite known was found
within the Arctic circle by Lieutenant
Peary. The Eskimos had known Of 1t
for generations as a 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
summer of 1897. when, after much labor,
it was excava ted 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 Museum of Natural History. 1t
is believed to weigh about 100 tons.
Up to 1772 the stories of bodies falling
from space were not entertained seriously
by scientific men. So eminent a scient-
list as Lavosier, after thoroughly investi-
eating a case, decided that it was merely
a stone which had been struck by light
ming. Falls finally occurred which dem
onstrated beyond dispute that the mis-
sles came from space, and science recog-
nized the fact that the earth was liter
ally being bombarded, and that human
safety was due to the atmospheric ar
NOR, scarcely 100 miles thick, that en-
veloped the earth. One of the most re-
markable falls during recent years is
known as the Great Kansas meteor 1t
was evidently of large size. flashing into
sight 50 or 80 miles from the earth on
the Goth of June. 1876, over the state of
Kansas. To the first observers it appear
ed to come from the vicinity of the moon
and resembled a small moon or a gigantic
fire ball, blazing brightly and creating
terror and amazemeht among thousands
of spectators who witnessed its flight 1t
passed to the east, disappearing near the
horizon in a blaze of light The entire
passage occupied nearly 50 seconds, being
visible to the inhabitants of Iowa. Ne
braska, Missouri, Indiana, Wisconsin, IL
lnois, Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio, Penn
sylvania and West Virginia.
The visitor created the greatest alarm
and apprehension along its path, the
blaze of light being accompanied by re-
peated explosions and detonations which
sounded like the roar and rumble of cam