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On the morning of the 11th of August, 1859, at 7 o'clock and 

 20 minutes or thereabouts, thermometer 73°, air still, and the sun 

 shining brightly, a meteoric body of great size and brilliancy was 

 observed throughout a large portion of Western New England 

 and Eastern New York, which exploding violently threw down 

 to the earth at least one fragment of its mass, in the vicinity of 

 Albany, N. Y. 



The main facts connected with this interesting phenomenon, 

 collected from numerous and widely separated observers, are as 

 follows : — 



By observers generally, north of Albany, the meteor is de- 

 scribed as appearing in the southeast, at an elevation of from 45° 

 to 60° ; thence it passed rapidly to the south, and disappeared a 

 little west of south, at an elevation of from 10° to 15°. Its course, 

 throughout its visible range, was marked by a heavy train or 

 trail of smoke, which continued visible for some time after the 

 meteor itself had disappeared ; and at two or three points in its 

 course, large volumes of smoke were observed to form, as if the 

 result of successive explosions. These volumes of smoke were 

 observed to be in a state of great agitation, and in size were com- 

 pared to the cloud of smoke produced by the discharge of a six- 

 pounder. 



To observers, generally, south of Albany, (twenty miles or 

 more distant,) the meteor was first seen in the northeast, and dis- 

 appeared in the northwest ; a fact which indicates the path of the 

 body to have been nearly coincident with the parallel of Albany. 



A few minutes after the disappearance of the meteor, the lapse 

 of time being variously estimated, by differently located observers, 

 at from thirty seconds to two minutes, two or three loud and suc- 

 cessive explosions or reports were heard, accompanied by pro- 

 longed echoes and a violent concussion. These sounds have been 

 compared by some to sharp and heavy peals of thunder, to the 

 report attending the explosion of a powder mill, or steam boiler, 

 and also to the rumbling of heavy carriages on a bridge. In 

 Troy, the concussion and jarring were sufficiently intense to sug- 

 gest the idea of an earthquake ; people walking in the streets 

 involuntarily stopped, and for a moment nearly every occupation 

 was suspended. At Schaghticoke, N. Y., and Bennington, Vt., 

 where powder mills are in operation, the report was referred to 



PROCEEDINGS B. S. N. H. VOL. VII. 12 JANUARY, 1860. 



