380 MEMOIKS NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, VOL. XIII. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 



1. 1907: Merrill. On the meteorite from Rich Mountain, Jackson County, North Carolina. Proc. U. S. Nat. Mub., 

 vol. 32, pp. 241-244. (Cut of stone.) 



Robertson County. See Coopertown. 

 Robinson Station. See Cynthiana. 



ROCHESTER. 



Fulton County, Indiana. 



Latitude 41° 5' N., longitude 86° 15' W. 



Stone. Spherical chondrite (Cc of Brezina); Montrejite (type 38) of Meunier. 



Fell 8.45 p. m., December 21, 1876. 



Weight, one stone of 340 grams (0.9 lb.). 



The first account of the meteor which produced this meteorite was given by Newton * as 

 follows : 



On the evening of Thursday, December 21, 1876, a meteor of unusual size and brilliancy passed over the States 

 of Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. In many respects it is worthy of special record. From newspaper 

 notices that we have been able to collect, from a few private letters, and from some letters kindly sent us by Professor 

 Henry from the Smithsonian Institution, we are able to give a general account of the body. 



It was first seen, so far as known, over the State of Kansas, and probably as far west as the center of the State. 

 It passed nearly over and probably north of the cities of Topeka and Leavenworth, being there at an altitude of about 

 60 miles. It crossed the Mississippi between Hannibal and Keokuk, but nearer to the former place. Over the center 

 of the State of Missouri one or more explosions occurred, and shortly after crossing the Mississippi it broke into sev- 

 eral fragments. The breaking up continued while it was crossing the States of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. A loud 

 explosion is reported as far east as Concord and Erie, Pennsylvania. The meteor consisted in fact of a large flock of 

 brilliant balls chasing each other across the sky, the number being variously estimated at from a score to a hundred. 

 This flight is of peculiar interest because of the long continued violent disintegration. 



The region round Chicago was overcast, and though the clouds were lighted up in a most remarkable manner, no 

 sound seems to have been heard. In like manner no sound is reported from St. Louis. But over all the region of 

 central Illinois between these two cities a terrific series of explosions was heard. In Keokuk, Iowa, it was heard, 

 but not elsewhere in that State, so far as appears from the accounts. A rumbling is reported as far south of the track 

 as Bloomington, Indiana, 120 miles distant, but whether it was caused by the meteor is doubtful. Yet over the 

 northern part of Indiana the passage of the body was followed by loud explosions. 



Whether a portion of the body pursued its way onward over New York State and out of the atmosphere is doubt- 

 ful. The path was nearly parallel to the earth's surface and might easily be in its latter part upward. But if the 

 sky was then clear over western New York the meteor would in such case certainly have been seen in that region. 



The path was about N. 75° E., and was nearly or quite a straight line and not less than 1,000 miles long. The 

 duration of flight was of course variously estimated from 15 seconds up to 3 minutes, and yet no one probably saw the 

 body through more than a fraction of its path. 



It entered the air in a course differing only about 30° from the earth's motion and was overtaking the earth. Its 

 real motion made therefore a still smaller angle with that of the earth. But the relative velocity was so slow, prob- 

 ably not over 10 or 15 miles per second, that the earth's attraction had changed its direction greatly. It must have 

 been coming previous to that change from a point near to and a little south of the ecliptic, in the eastern or southern 

 part of the constellation Capricornus. There appears to be no known meteor-radiant at that time near that part of the 

 heavens. 



Following Newton, an account was given by Shepard, 2 as follows : 



A fall of a meteoric stone took place at about 8.45 Thursday evening, December 21, 1876. The circumstances 

 connected therewith are drawn from several communications. The first is from Prof. Daniel Kirkwood, of Bloom- 

 ington, Indiana, professor of mathematics in the Indiana State University, as published in the Indianapolis Journal. 

 Professor Kirkwood's account says: 



"Last evening, December 21, about 8.45 o'clock, our citizens witnessed a meteoric display of extraordinary bril- 

 liancy. A fireball, described by many observers as surpassing the moon in apparent magnitude, followed by a great 

 number of smaller meteors, was seen in the eastern heavens, moving in an easterly direction. Its first appearance 

 was at a point 12° or 15° north of west and about 10° above the horizon. A remarkable feature of the meteoric group 

 was the slowness of its apparent motion. The time of flight was variously estimated. Most observers, however, think 

 it could not have been less than 3 minutes. Many of the meteors following in the train of the principal bolide were 

 larger than Venus or Jupiter. No attempt was made to count them, but their number was certainly nearly one hundred . 

 Some minutes after the disappearance a rumbling noise was heard, which was supposed to result from the meteor's 

 explosion." 



