OP A METEORIC STONE. 325 



merous spots of unclouded sky were visible, and along the 

 Northern part of the horizon, a space of 10 or 15 degrees was 

 perfectly clear. 



The attention of judge Wheeler was first drawn by a sud- 

 den flash of light, which illuminated every object; looking up, 

 he discovered in the North, a globe of fire, just then passing 

 behind the first cloud, which obscured although it did not 

 entirely hide the meteor. 



In this situation, its appearance was distinct and well defined, 

 like that of the sun seen through a mist. It rose from the 

 North, and proceeded in a direction nearly perpendicular to 

 the horizon, but inclining by a very small angle to the West, 

 and deviating a little from the plane of a great circle, though in 

 pretty large curves, sometimes on one side of the plane, and 

 sometimes on the other, but never making an angle with it of 

 more than four or five degrees. Its apparent diameter was about 

 one half or two thirds the apparent diameter of the full moon. 



Its progress was not so rapid as that of common meteors and 

 shooting stars. When it passed behind the thinner clouds, it 

 appeared brighter than before; and, when it passed the spots 

 of clear sky, it flashed with a vivid light, yet not so intense 

 as the lightning in a thunder-storm, but rather like what is 

 commonly called heat-lightning, i Where it was not too much 

 obscured by thicks clouds, a waving conical train of paler 

 light was seen to attend it, in length about 10 or 12 diameters 

 of the body. In the clear sky a brisk scintillation was ob- 

 served about the body of the meteor, like that of a burning 

 fire-brand, carried against the wind. 



It disappeared about 15 degrees short of the zenith, and 

 about the same number of degrees West of the meridian. It 

 did not vanish instantaneously, but grew pretty rapidly fainter 

 and tainter, as a red hot cannon-ball would do, if cooling in 

 the dark, only with much more rapidity. There was no pe- 

 culiar smell in the atmosphere, nor were any luminous masses 

 seen to separate from the body. The whole period between 

 its first appearance and total extinction was estimated at about 

 30 seconds. 



