Meteor of Dee. 14, 1837. | 131 
Thinking it probable that some portion of this meteor had fallen 
in the southwestern part of this State, I made inquiries by letter in 
Various towns in that region. At Wilton, (28 miles, about W. by 
S. from this city,) the meteor was scen by several persons, and 
their testimony was kindly collected for me, by Mr. Hawley Olm- 
stead. Mr. Edward Baldwin, one of the observers at that place, has 
given me some additional details. For observations at a spot 
about seven miles S. W. from Wilton, I am indebted to Rev. 
Theophilus Smith of New Canaan. At Wilton, the meteor pas- 
sed a little south of the zenith, in a westerly direction. It grad- 
ually enlarged until just before the explosion, and at the largest, 
it was of “the magnitude of one fourth of the moon.” The bril- 
lianey of the meteor was exceedingly great, and rendered minute 
objects on the ground distinctly visible. Its light was so intense 
that it arrested the attention of a person engaged in study in his 
fom with two candles burning before him. The train was long, 
and remained in sight several seconds after the explosion. When 
25° or 30° above the horizon, the meteor exploded with a heavy 
report, which, according to the mean of various estimates, reached 
the ear in about thirty seconds afterwards. One or more of the 
observers saw luminous fragments descend towards the ground. 
ost of the witnesses imagined that they heard a whizzing noise, 
4 the meteor passed over their heads; but this could not have 
been noticed until several seconds after the meteor’s passage. 
After collecting numerous observations from witnesses in vari- 
ous places, I found that they were not sufficiently exact and con- 
cordant to enable me to give a satisfactory account of the meteor, 
and I was for some time uncertain whether it was worth while to 
Publish them. ‘The following are the results which were ob- 
ined. The direction of the path of the meteor while visible, 
Was probably one or two degrees N. of W. and inclined down- 
wards. The length of its path, and its relative velocity, can only 
be roughly conjectured, as I do not find that any one saw the 
Meteor at its earliest appearance. Its path while visible may 
ve been from 15 to 20 miles long. Ou account of the direction 
of the earth’s motion at the moment, the relative velocity of the 
Meteor was probably less than the absolute, but how much less 
cannot be determined, as we do not know the angle which its 
Path made with our horizon. When it exploded, it was three or 
Sur miles above the surface of the earth, and probably over the 
