1879.] -^4o [Kirkwood. 



fragments of the meteor of August 11, 1873, seen at Titusville, Pa., were 

 invisible at Bloomington, Indiana. If we assume, then, that as seen from 

 Washington the point of explosion was also that of disappearance, we find- 

 by a tentative process that the observations are approximately satisfied by 

 supposing the separation to have taken place over Tuscarawas County, Ohio, 

 about N. 80° W. from Washington, Pa., at a distance of 70 miles, and at a 

 height of 17 or 18 miles above the earth's surface. After the explosion the 

 parts remained visible at Wooster until within 12 or 13 miles of the earth. 

 The course was nearly S. W. ; the true length of the entire visible track as 

 seen at Wooster was about 85 miles; that of its projection on the earth's 

 surface, about 60 miles. The inclination of the path to the surface of the 

 earth was about 45°. The velocity, though uncertain, was probably greater 

 than that corresponding to an elliptic orbit. No detonation was heard at 

 any point of observation. 



(8.) 1879, January 28, 2h. 28m., A. m., local time.— Observations at 

 Princeton, Green Lake County, Wisconsin. Lat. 43° 50' N., Long. 12° 

 13' W. — Rev. William M. Richards, states that between 2 and 3 o'clock* 

 on the morning of January 28, he was awakened by a sudden flash of in- 

 tense light which he at first supposed to be lightning. It continued, how- 

 ever, for some seconds, and by the time he was thoroughly awake and 

 ready to make observations the light had assumed a reddish tinge, some- 

 what resembling that of a Roman candle. He next supposed it to be a fire, 

 but immediately found that if so, it must be out of the village. After 

 making other conjectures, to be as quickly dismissed, he finall} r reach the 

 conclusion that the light was meteoric. 



"By that time," he says, "the frightful conflagration had settled down 

 into a low pyramid of lurid light, the base extending 60° along the N. E. 

 horizon, and the vertex having an altitude of 30°. * * * The time of 

 the meteor's flight is very uncertain ; perhaps 8 to 10 seconds. The bril- 

 liant and white light at first would indicate that the movement was from 

 the West."f 



Observations at Traverse City, Michigan, Lat. 44° 43' N., Long. 8° 40' W. 

 The Grand Traverse Herald, of January 30, 1879, states that the accounts 

 of this meteor by different observers were, in some respects, very conflict- 

 ing; those who saw it being too much startled to observe it closely. 

 " What is known is that it was an immense ball of fire, that the darkness 

 was made light as noonday, and that a terrible explosion followed its dis- 

 appearance. A night watchman who saw it explode says it flew into 

 minute pieces like star dust. The one thing that all agree upon is the ex- 

 plosion. This was heard with equal clearness at Mayfield, 13 miles south 

 of Traverse City, and at Williamsburg, 12 miles east. The effect was like 

 that of an earthquake. Houses were jarred, windows shook, and dishes 

 rattled upon the shelves. A swaying motion seemed to be given to the 



* Mr. Richards did not notice the exact time. The Michigan observations give 

 2h. 28m. 

 t Letter from Rev. Mr. Richards. See also the Sci. Am. of March 15, 1879. 



