Abstract
LAST night, about 10.30, I saw a magnificent bolide shoot across the sky in a northerly direction. It came from the middle star in Orion's belt, and disappeared at a point almost in a line with “the Pointers” in the Great Bear, and at a distance below the lower of the two stars almost equal to the distance between them. Its path was perceptibly arched, but not to any great extent, and, as far as I could judge, it was not parabolic. When the bolide first appeared, it seemed a mere luminous point moving with great rapidity, and without a tail. But about half way it suddenly grew large and brilliant, a tail shot out, and the path behind it remained luminous and distinct. I could compare the bolide at this point to nothing so much as to a red-hot cannon ball emitting sparks of fire. It was accompanied by no sound, and was gone in half a dozen seconds. During its passage the streets seemed to be lit up with the electric light. It was apparently so close that I should think a few, miles would have made a very sensible difference in its apparent position in the heavens.
Article PDF
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
OLDHAM, J. Meteors. Nature 29, 123 (1883). https://doi.org/10.1038/029123d0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/029123d0
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.