OBSERyATIONS OF LUMINOUS METEORS. 171 



1876, Januarj' 5th, 10.30 p.m. — Iowa and Missouri. 



This meteor, according to Mr. Irish's letter and accompanying map, was 

 witnessed over an area extending from Cass, in Iowa, to Grundy, in Missouri. It 

 appeared to descend almost perpendic\ilarty, and was a very brilliant meteor, 

 and a very noisy one also. A series of reports twenty-two in number were 

 heard during its transit from Cass to Grundy. The rumbling thunder of its 

 artillery, together with its flashes of brilliant light, brought people from their 

 beds with an apprehension that the great Civil War had broken out afresh. Its 

 time of flight over the area indicated was not more than five seconds, and the 

 light it emitted is said to have equalled that of noonday. None of the 

 meteorites which must have fallen have been found, for the reasons already 

 referred to when speaking of the detonating meteor of December 27th. 



1876, January 31st, 5.30 p.m. — Louisville, Kentucky. 



Dr. Lawrence Smith, of Louisville, observed a magnificent meteor traversing 

 the heavens on the afternoon of the above day. He first saw it at an altitude 

 of about 60° above the horizon, and it disappeared from view behind some 

 houses at an elevation of about 20°. Its direction appears to have been from 

 X.W. to (S.E., and the angular magnitude about one sixth that of the disk of 

 the moon. It was seen over an area 120 miles in diameter. A number of 

 observers witnessed an explosion which took place when the meteor was 

 about 10° above the horizon ; all the fragments disappeared instantly, except 

 the largest, which also became invisible before it reached the horizon. One 

 or two of the eye-witnesses think they noticed a whizzing noise, and at the 

 time of bursting heard the explosion. jS^o fragments of a meteorite have yet 

 been met with ; but it is the opinion of Dr. Smith that they feU about the 

 range of the Cumberland Mountains in Kentucky, or in the north-east of 

 Tennessee. 



1876, April 7th (evening). — Eperjes, Hungary*. 



A fireball passed over Eperjes 8° [?£. or W.] from the meridian, and 

 detonated at an altitude of 38° above the horizon. It exploded with a very 

 loud noise, and broke into numerous fiery fragments. 



1876, June 28th, 11-12 a.m. — StiiUdalen, Dalecarlia, Sweden. 



A meteor traversed a part of Central Sweden in a W.N.W. direction, and was 

 plainly visible in the vei-y bright sunshine. It was observed at Stockholm and 

 at Sodermanland ; at 13 English miles S.W. of Liukoping it was seen first in 

 an 'N.W. direction, and at a considerable altitude, and it descended almost to 

 the horizon in the west. A loud whistling noise was heard in the air from 

 E. to "W., followed by two sharp reports, and others less loud resembling 

 thunder. The fall of the meteorites was witnessed by eight or ten persona, 

 and three or four fragments have been secured by Dr. Lindstrom. The 

 largest, about the size of two fists, weighs 4^ skalpund [1 lb. av. = 1-068 Itt. 

 or skalpund], StiiUdalen is a station on the Swedish Central Railway, on 

 the northernmost part of Crebrolan, Some of the meteorites which fell ia 

 ■water have been lost. 



^ Egyet^rtds es Magyar Ujsag. Budapest, April 13, 1876. 



