A Remarkable Meteor

Abstract

WHILE at Pasadena, eight miles north-east of Los Angeles, California, on July 27, a few minutes before half-past seven, the writer had his attention suddenly drawn towards the north-western horizon by a bright flash of light as of the bursting of a meteor; but on keeping his gaze fixed on the point where this flash appeared, he was surprised still more to see that instead of disappearing, as usually happens with meteors when they explode, there remained a very luminous figure, somewhat of the shape of the new moon but with more wavy outlines, and of an intense whiteness, something as of an electric light, in well-defined relief against the pale golden glow of the sky. The whole time during which this luminosity was visible was something over twenty minutes, and it had ceased to be visible at eight minutes before eight. The crescent shape was not maintained more than about three minutes, then it took the appearance of a luminous vapour or cloud rising vertically for a little distance and then bending off sharply to the left in almost an horizontal line, but not showing any tendency to dissipate or grow thinner at the end farthest from the point of origin. As time went on, the whole figure became more wavy in outline, but persistently remained fixed in the same part of the sky. The bottom, the point of origin, was slightly brighter than the rest of the figure, and a little reddish in colour, and the underside of the arm outstretched to the left was brighter than the upper side. It was clearly beyond, and in no wise connected with, the Sierra San Gabriel, which cut the sky with a dark, well-defined Iune under the luminous figure. All who were watching it perceived that it was no common cloud; the north-western sky was cloudless and free from haze, and no cloud in the west at such an hour can shine with this sort of light, which indeed had more the lustre of white flame.