FIREBALL AT PALMERSTON.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 7, 9 June 1913, Page 8

FIREBALL AT PALMERSTON.

WHAT WAS IT?

THEORY OF SEAL METEORITE.

Palmerston North, June S. Jf As a result of investigations, there i» fl little doubt that the "thunderbolt" which | struck Rangitikei street, Palmerston J North, on Thursday, May 21, was of meteoric origin. This conclusion seems f, to be established as a result of experi- _'<jj ments made by Mr. Eliot Warfurton. 'I It will be remembered that tho "fireball" $ struck a footpath a few chains beyond- , -;S the Family Hotel, and that its action ' 'tj was not confined to the kerbing, was ex- J tended to a tree On an adjoining sec- j tion. _ , . Mr. Warburton secured a portion of „' the damaged bark and now, with the aid of a magnet, he ha* discovered pap :j tides of iron in the dust adhering to m. * His opinion is that the body was a '< meteorite of the kind which generally appears as a train of light rushing through the air, and at one part of its - V J course, bursting into fragments with a loud noise. The ordinary meteor, seen *. on a clear night, enters the atmosphere' for a brief space, and depart! again "J into space. When, however, a meteor- , ite enters the air under certain exeep-. J tional conditions the impression created, .3 is that of a ball of fire crossing the J sky and leaving a trail of light which is visible (if it appears in the day time) «jfg! at a distance of many miles,, (if it appears at night) is often so br}llik»fc.."J| as to light up a whole district!' - Jflj HOW AN EYE-WITNESS SAW IT. J Some light is thrown on the matter by the description of the principal eye- *>£ witness (Mr. C. Moore, of Rangitikei r 4 street) who was almost stunned by the ~J concussion, the effects of which he felt for three days. He dpeaks of the first ■■■■} appearance of the phenomenon as "a r dark cloud dropping from the sky, and , - assuming the form of a ball of fire as it approached the ground." He states that the descent was not swift, the Are- ? ball appearing to float downwards as a : soap bubble might do. When it struck J, 1 the road, however, the impact was terri- ■ ffc, and the glowing substance seemed to • ■ flow out in all directions. The centre ,! ' of the mass, as it appeared to Mr. Moore, ' was dark, while the surrounding mate- B ! rial was incandescent. When the im» M 1 pact with the earth occurred the fir# ; cloud burst with a deafening roar. The % '' glowing substance ran in all directions. J\| 9 The dark mass then disappeared, and lt£p . would be difficult to say what became it in the confusion, and a brown colored . cloud (possibly consisting of steam and j gases) arose again to the sky. The |. suit of the collision was a large hole the footpath, the shattering of the kerW;ij ing and damage to the nearest trefc-S f These observations tend to bear out s meteorite, theory, and it is not at *B's g unlikly that a mass of iron lies fcuriedijl many feet below the footpath. The J sides of the hole made by the meteorite would naturally cave in, and the" iron \| would be far out of sight before the; 'J t breach was filled in by the boroogh wiftitrJa men. 1