The Rathdrum tribune. (Rathdrum, Idaho) 1903-1963, 1917-05-18
GIFTS FROM SPACE
Wonderful Meteorites That Drop
to Us Out of the Sky.
ONCE REGARDED AS SACRED.
In the Early Days They Were OBJ.
jsots Of Reverence and Worship.
as 10 the Famous Stone at Mecca To.
day-Their Fiery Flight to Earth.

day-Their Fiery Flight to Earth.
In considering the wonders of the
universe have you ever realized how
conspicuous among them are the me-
teorftes. those wonderful messages
dropped from the sky for us to wonder
at and study? They are the only ma.
terial objects which come to the earth
from the vast outer world.
Among the collections shown In the
National museum at Washington is a
remarkably fine exhibit of meteorites
1t includes complete meteorites rang.
Ing In size from the merest pebbles to
great bowlderlike masses and casts re.
producing giant forms like that of Ba.
| cubirito, which has been estimated to
weigh twenty-five tons and still rests
where 1t fell In Mexico
The National museum has issued o
handbook and descriptive catalogue of
he meteorite collections in the mu-
scum, written by DR.. George p. Mer-
rfll. head curator Of geology. from
which the following is an abstract:
Although meteorites presumably have
fallen since time immemorial, skep-
ticism was felt at first by both the
popular and scientific minds regarding
the possibilities of stones falling from
space. In the few early recorded cases
where meteorites seen to fall were re.
covered they were regarded as objects
of reverence and worship. A stone
which fell in ancient Phrygia, in Asia
Minor. about 200 years before Christ
was worshiped as Cybele, the mother
OF the gods. Another. which dates
back to the seventh century. is still
preserved at Mecca, where 1t is built
into the northeast corner of the Ka'a-
ba and revered as one Of the hottest Ct
relics. The great Casas Grandes iron.
weighing about 5000 pounds. now In
the national collection at Washington,
was found In an ancient Mexican ruin
swathed In mummy clothes In a man.
ner to indicate that 1t was held in
more than ordinary veneration by the
prehistoric inha bitants.
The earliest known undoubted me.
teorites still preserved are those of
Elbogen, Bohemia and Ensisheim, Up.
per Alsace. The first mentioned is
iron, the second stone. The iron was
FOUND somewhere about the year 400
OF our era. The Ensisheim stone, seen
to fall on Nov. 16, 1892, about the time
Columbus made his discoveries, was
accompanied with a loud crash like
thunder. Portions of this stone are to
be seen in the National museum ex.
hibit.
The fall of meteorite is usually &C.
companled by noises variously describ- !
ed as resembling the fire of musketry,
cannonading or even thunder. II the
fall takes place during the periods of
darkness 1t is also accompanied BY a
flash of light and followed by lumi.
nous roeket-like trail. These phenome.
ma are due to the rapid passage of the
objects through the air and a conse-
quent rise In temperature. sufficient to
produce fusion of the outer surface
and even Ignition, thus giving rise to
the thin, dark, glasslike crust which
Is found to cover all stony tneteorites.
The time OF passage through the at.
mosphere is, however, too short to per-
nit the heat to penetrate to great
lepths, and nearly all meteorites are
lutte cool. or scarcely warm. on reach.
ng the surface of the ground. 1t ia
% the sudden rise in temperature and :
of the atmosphere that the
breaking up Of meteorite and its ,,
'eachlng the ground as shower of /,
fragments rather than single indivld. !
lal are due.
we have little to guide US In estimat.
ng the speed at which a meteorfte
caches the earth and It's consequent !.
'oWer or penetration. The yelocities =
IS given by various Observers vary be.
ween two and forty-1ve miles a sec.
md. The greatest recorded depth of
OF meteoric stone Is that
u hnyahlnya. Hungary. where a ego !
'ound stone penetrated to depth of :
leVen feet. On the other hand, still =
eavler masses have been found under !,
UGH conditions as to lead one to infer = y
hat they scarcely buried themselves. =
All statements relative to the temper. y
ture OF meteorites immediately after r
eaching the ground must be accepted
uardedly, owing to their extremely
contradictory character. Some stones
'hich fell In Syria in 1850 are stated Il
have remained in state of mean y
escence for over FIVE seconds and for 81
quarter of an hour were too hot to q
banded. On the other hand, the u
'hurmsala stone is said to have been u
ltensely cold when picked up immedi. "
tely after falling.
The largest known meteoric mass ia
lat brought by Commander Peary
ON Cape York, Greenland. It weigh. M
$4,000 pounds. The next largest
es In the plain near Bacubirito. In
.exico. and has been estimated TO th
eigh some 10000 pounds, while the
lird Is that of willamette, Ore. -
eighing BLOT pounds. These are all
on meteorites. The largest known
dividual aerolite of meteoric stone ia
at OF Knyahinya, Hungary, weighing 70
me $50 pounds. now In the Vienna
ational museum. cel
DIR. Merrill says that all known me-
critics were produced BIZ the action
,nAat md hnua =