Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1917-02-01
GIFTS FROM SPACE
Wonderful Meteorites That Drop
to Us Out Of the Sky
ONCE REGARDED AS SACRED.
in the Early Days They Were OBJ
jects Of Reverence and Worship,
as Is the Famous Stone at Mecca To.
day-Their Fiery Flight to Earth.

T." 90 10 etiS q oftio9S ol0IbC oil HITeSCa o.
day-Their Fiery Flight to Earth.
In considering the wonders CT the
universe have yon ever realized how
conspicuous among them are the me-
teorites. 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 bowlder-like 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 it fell in Mexico.
The National museum has issued a
handbook and descriptive catalogue of
the mcteorite collections in tho mu-
scum, written by DR.. George Il. Mer-
rill, 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 We're 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 it is built
into the northeast corner of the Ka'a-
ba and revered as one OF the hottest of
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 it was held in
more than ordinary veneration by the
prehistoric inhabitants.
The earliest known undoubted me-
Elbogen, Bohemia and Ensisheim, Up
per Alsace. The first mentioned is
iron, the second a 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
[NoJ,, ~, J,,e - :, IA 1,io9 l;. r,a
accompanied with a loud crash like
thunder. Portions of this stone are to
be seer in the National museum ex-
hibit.
The fall of a meteorite is usually ac-
companied by noises variously describ-
ed as resembling the fire of m%usketry,
camonading or even thunder. IF the
fall takes place during the periods, of
darkness 1t is also accompanied by a
flash of light and followed by a lumi-
nous ~rocket-like trail. These pheno1ne-
ma are due to the rapid passage of the
objects through the air and a onse.
quent rise in temperature, sufficientyto
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 meteorites.
The time of passage through the at
mosphere is, however, too short to per-
NIT the heat to penetrate to great
depths, and nearly all meteorites are
quite cool, or scarcely warm, on reach.
ing the surface of the ground. 1t is
to the sudden rise in temperature and
pressure of the atmosphere that the
breaking up of a meteorite and it's
reaching the ground as a shower Of
fragments rather than q single individ.
ual are due.
We have little to guide us in estimat-
ing the speed at which a meteorite
reaches the earth and its consequent
power of penetration. The velocities
as given by various observers vary be.
tween two and forty-fve miles a Sec
ond. The greatest recorded depth Of
penetration of a meteoric stone is that
of K%nyahinya, Hungary. where a $50
pound stone penetrated to a depth of
eleven feet. On the other hand, still
heavier masses have been found under
such conditions as to lead one to infer
that they scarcely buried themselves.
All statements relative to the temper
allure of meteorites Immediately after
reaching the ground must be accepted
euardedly, owing to their extremely
contradictory character. Some stones
which fell in Syria In 1859 are stated
to have remained in a state of incan-
descence for over FIVE seconds and for
a quarter Of an hour We're too hot to
be handled. On the other hand, the
Dhurmsala stone Is said to have been
intensely cold when picked up immedi-
ately after falling.
The largest known meteorfc mass Is
that brought by Commander Peary
from Cape York. Greenland. 1t weigh.
ed $4,000 pounds. The next largest
lies In the plain near Bacnbirito. in
Mexico, and has been estimated to
weigh some 10000 pounds, while the
third Is that Of Willamette Ore,
weighing Si,107 pounds. These are ali
Iron meteorites. The largest known
individual aerolite OF meteoric stone il
fh0f ~ z nvo H,i,,xo I1,.rr - -. .rntrha,.r