[meteorite-list] Weston 1807 meteorite fall - Analysis report by Silliman and Kingsley

From: Shawn Alan <photophlow_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2011 12:34:14 -0800 (PST)
Message-ID: <245247.37659.qm_at_web35408.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

Hello Listers,

A couple weeks ago I made a post about the Weston fall and the rivalry between Silliman and Woodhouse. What I didn't post is the analysis/ field study report?that was done by Silliman and Kingsley published in Transactions in 1809 and read in front of the American Philosophical Society on March 4, 1808. This report at the time catapulted American into the international lime light?of the?meteoritic science scene?and has been haled to be "no scientific paper had before appeared in the United States which excited so much attention and comment as this." (THE American Chemist,Volume V.?July, 1874, To June, 1875.)

Silliman's analysis report which has been deemed? as "the earliest and best authenticated account' of the fall of a meteor in America."( APPLETONS' CYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY VOL V. PICKERING-SUMTER 1888?pg. 528) exhibits first hand account of the Weston meteorite fall and great detail that fallows witness accounts. Down below is the introduction of the?analysis report that put America on the map for meteoritic?science.
?

Transactions of the American Philosophical Society vl 6, 1809.


Memoir on the origin and composition of the meteoric stones which Jell from the Atmosphere, in the County of Fairfield, and State of Connecticut, on the 1 ith of December 1807; in a Letter, dated February \8th 1808, from Benjamin Silliman, Professor of Chemistry in Vale College, Connecticut, and Mr. James L. Kingsley, to Mr. John Vaughan, Librarian of the American Philosophical Society.
Read March 4th, 1808. .j'
Sir,

We transmit, through you, to the Philosophical Society of Philadelphia, a revised, corrected, and somewhat enlarged account of the meteor which lately appeared in this vicinity. The substance of this account was first published in the Connecticut Herald, as public curiosity demanded an early statement of facts. Since that, the stone has been carefully
analysed, and the details of the analysis, forming a distinct paper, having never been published, are now transmitted to the society. The result of this analysis has been such as to confirm the general statement of the composition of the stone, which was published in the Herald, but without any of the details or the exact proportions. Under these circumstances, our present communication will probably be considered as sufficiently original, to merit the attention of the respectable body to whom it is transmitted.

It may be well to repeat, that in the investigation of the facts, we spent several days, visited and carefully examined every place where the stones had been ascertained to have fallen, and several where it had been only suspected without any discovery; conversed with all the principal original witnesses, and obtained specimens of every stone.

We are Sir, respectfully,
your very obedient servants.
BENJAMIN SILLIMAN.
JAMES L. KINGSLEY.

On the 14th of December 1807, about half past 6 o'clock in the morning, a meteor was seen moving through the atmosphere with great velocity, and was heard to explode over the town of Weston, in Connecticut, about 25 miles West of New-Haven. Nathan Wheeler esq. of Weston, one of the justices of the court of common pleas for the county of Fairfield, a gentleman of great respectability and undoubted veracity, who seems to have been entirely uninfluenced by fear, or imagination, was passing, at the time, through an enclosure adjoining his house, and had an opportunity of witnessing the whole phenomenon. From him the account of the appearance, progress, and explosion of the meteor is principally derived.

The morning was somewhat cloudy. The clouds were dispersed in unequal masses; being in some places thick and. opaque, and in others fleecy, and partially transparent. Numerous spots of unclouded sky were visible, and along the Northern part of the horizon, a space of 10 or 15 degrees was perfectly clear.

The attention of judge Wheeler was first drawn by a sudden flash of light, which illuminated every object; looking up, he discovered in the J^orth, a globe of tire, just then passing behind the first clcud, which obscured although it did not entirely hide the meteor.

In this situation, its appearance was distinct and well defined, like that of the sun seen through a mist. It rose from the North, and proceeded in a direction nearly perpendicular to the horizon, but inclining by a very small angle to the West, and deviating a little from the plane of a great circle, though iu pretty large curves, sometimes on one side of the plane, and sometimes on the other, but never making an angle with it of more than four or five degrees. Its apparent diameter was about one half or two thirds the apparent diameter of the full moon.

Its progress was not so rapid as that of common meteors and shooting stars. When it passed behind the thinner clouds, it appeared brighter than before; and, when it passed the spots of clear sky, it flashed with a vivid light, yet not so intense as the lightning in a thunder-storm, but rather like what is commonly called fieat-ligfitmng. Where it was not too much Obscured by thicks clouds, a waving conical train of paler light was seen to attend it, in length about 10 or 12 diameters of the body. In the clear sky a brisk scintillation was observed about the body of the meteor, like that of a burning fire-brand, carried against the wind.

It disappeared about 15 degrees short of the zenith, and about the same number of degrees West of the meridian. It did not vanish instantaneously, but grew pretty rapidly fainter and fainter, as a red hot cannon-ball would do, if cooling in the dark, only with much more rapidity. There was no peculiar smell in the atmosphere, nor were any luminous masses seen to separate from the body. The whole period between its first appearance and total extinction was estimated at about SO .seconds.

About 30 or 40 seconds after, three loud and distinct reports like those of a four-pounder near at hand, were heard. They succeeded each other with as much rapidity as was consistent with distinctness, and, all together, did not occupy three seconds. Then followed a rapid succession of reports Jess loud, and running into each other so as to produce a continued rumbling, like that of a cannon-ball rolling over a floor, sometimes louder, and at other times* fainter: some compared it to the noise of a waggon, running rapidly down a lopg and stony hill; or, to a volley of musquetry, protracted into what is called in military language, a running fire. This noise continued about as long as the body was in rising, and died away apparently in the direction from which the meteor came. The accounts of others corresponded substantially with this. Time was differently estimated by different people. Some augmented the number of loud reports, and terror and
 imagination seem, in various instances, to have magnified every circumstance of the phenomenon.

The only observation which seemed of any importance beyond this statement, was derived from Mr. Elihu Staples, who said, that when the meteor disappeared, there were apparently three successive efforts or leaps of the fire-ball, which grew more dim at every throe, and disappeared with the last.

The meteor was seen East of the Connecticut, and West of Hudson river, as far South as New-York, and as far North as the county of Berkshire Massachusetts; and the explosion was heard, and a tremulous motion of the earth perceived, between 40 and 50 miles North of Weston, and in other directions. We do not however pretend to give this as the extent of the appearance of the meteor; all that we affirm is, that we have not heard any thing beyond this statement.

>From the various accounts which we have received of the appearance of this body at different place*, we are inclined to believe, the time between the disappearance and report as estimated by judge Wheeler to be too little, and that a minute is the least time which could have intervened. Taking this, therefore, for the time, and the apparent diameter of the body as only half that of the full moon, its real diameter could not be less than 300 feet.

We now proceed to detail the consequences which followed the explosion and apparent extinction of this luminary.

We allude to the fall of a number of masses of stone in several places, within the town of Weston, and on the confines of adjoining towns*. The places which had been well ascertained, at the period of our investigation, were six. The most remote were about 9 or 10 miles distant from each other, in a line differing little from the course of the meteor. It is therefore probable that the masses tell in this order?the most northerly first, and the most southerly last. We think we are able to point out three principal places where stones have fallen, corresponding with the three loud cannon-like reports, and with the three leaps of the meteor, observed by Mr. Staples. There were some circumstances common to all the cases. There was in every instance, immediately after the explosions had ceased, a loud, whizzing or roaring noise in the air, observed at all the places, and so far as was ascertained, at the moment of the fall. It excited in some, the idea of a
 tornado; in others, of a large cannon-shot, in rapid motion, and it filled all with astonishment and apprehension of some impending catastrophe. In every instance, immediately after this, was heard a sudden and abrupt noise, like that of a ponderous body striking the ground in its fall. Excepting two, all the stones which have been found were more or less broken. The most important circumstances of the particular cases were as follows:

1st. The most northerly fall was within the limits of the town of Huntingdon on the border of Weston, about 40 or 50 rods east of the great road leading from Bridgeport to Newtown, in a cross-road, and contiguous to the house of Mr. Merwin Burr. Mr. Burr was standing in the road, in front of his house, when the stone fell. The noise produced by its collision with a rock.of granite, on which it struck, was very loud. Mr. Burr was within 50 feet, and searched immediately for the body, but, it being still dark, he did not find it

* It may be necessary to remark that the term toixn, is, in Connecticut, a territorial designation, meaning a given extent of ground, (anciently 6 miles square) and has no necessary reference to a collection of houses.

U

till half an hour after. By the fall, some of it was reduced to powder, and the rest was broken into very small pieces, which were thrown around tovthe distance of 20 or 30 feet.

The rock was stained at the place of contact, with a deep lead-colour. The largest fragment which remained, did not exceed the size of a goose-egg, and this, Mr. Burr found to be still warm to his hand. There was reason to conclude, from all the circumstances, that this stone must have weighed from 20 to 25 pounds.

Mr. Burr had a strong impression that another stone fell in an adjoining field, and it was confidently believed that a large mass had fallen into a neighbouring swamp; but neither of these had been found.
It is probable that the stone whose fall has now been described, together with any other masses which may have fallen at the same time, was thrown from the meteor at the first Explosion.

2nd. The masses projected at the second explosion seem to have fallen principally at, and in the vicinity of Mr. William Prince's in Weston, distant about five miles from Mr. Burr's, in a southerly direction.
Mr. Prince and family were still in bed, when they heard the explosions, and immediately after, a noise like that ordinarily produced by the fall of a very heavy body to the ground. They formed various unsatisfactory conjee-' tures concerning the cause, nor, did even a fresh-made hole through the turf in the door-yard, about 25 feet from the house, lead to any conception of the cause. They had indeed formed a vague conjecture that the hole might have been made by lightning; but, would probably have paid no farther attention to the circumstance, had they not heard, in the course of the day, that stones had fallen that morning, in other parts of the town. This induced them, towards evening, to search the hole in the yard, where they found a stone buried in the loose. earth, which had fallen in upon it. It lay at the depth of two feet; the hole was about 12 inches in diameter, and as the earth was soft and nearly free from stones, the mass had sustained
 little injury, only a few small fragments having been

detached by the shock. The weight of this stone was about thirty five pounds. From the descriptions which we have heard, it must have been a noble specimen, and men of science will not cease to regret, that so rare a treasure should have been sacrificed to the dreams of avarice, and the violence of ignorant and impatient curiosity; for, it was immediately broken in pieces with hammers, and, in the hands of unskilful pretenders, heated in the crucible and forge, with the vain hope of extracting from it silver and gold: all that remained unbroken of this mass, was a piece of I'2 pounds weight, since purchased by Isaac Bronson Esq of Greenfield, with the liberal view of presenting it to some public institution.
Six days after, another mass was discovered, half a mile north west from Mr. Prince's. The search was induced by the confident persuasion of the neighbours, that they heard it fall near the spot where it was actually found, buried in the earth, and weighing from 7 to 10 pounds. It was found by Gideon Hall and Isaac Fairchild. It was in small fragments, having fallen on a globular detached mass of gneiss rock, which it split in two, and by which it was itself shivered to pieces.

The same men informed us, that they suspected another stone had fallen in the vicinity, as the report had been distinctly heard, and could be referred to a particular region, somewhat to the east. Returning to the place, after an excursion of a few hours to another part of the town, we were gratified to find the conjecture verified, by the actual discovery of a mass of 13 pounds weight, which had fallen half a mile to the north east of Mr. Prince's. Having fallen in a ploughed field, without coming into contact with a rock, it was broken only into two principal pieces, one ot which, possessing all the characters of the stone in a remarkable degree, we purchased, for, it had now become an article of sale......

For the full report click on this link down below
http://books.google.com/books?id=DbkAAAAAYAAJ&dq=silliman%20%20meteorite%20transactions%20Transactions%201809&pg=PA323#v=onepage&q&f=false


Shawn Alan
IMCA 1633
eBaystore
http://shop.ebay.com/photophlow/m.html


?

?
Received on Thu 10 Mar 2011 03:34:14 PM PST