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Show METEOR ROARS TO THE EARTH. Strikes Ground Somewhere Between Tooele and Bingham Startles the Populace Bright Light and Loud Noise Awakens Slumberers. j. Glowing with a brilliancy" equal"" to that of the sun, and accompanied by 'the noise of a rumbling thunder, a 'gigantic meteor passed over the city Saturday morning and struck the earth isomewhere near Tooele, causing the 'ground to tremble as if shaken by an earthquake, for miles around. Houses trembled and glass windows rattled :hroughout the city. The same demonstrations demon-strations were observed in Bingham, l.ehi and Tooele, and doubtless the remor was felt in many other towns, jm this section of the state. People were awakened "from their sleep by the rumbling noise and the severe trembling trem-bling of the ground made many think that a gigantic earthquake held the state in its grip. The phenomenon was observed here about 4:30 o'clock yesterday morning. At that time people who were up and others who slept lightly heard a rumbling rum-bling noise that sounded like distant thunder. The noise gradually increased in-creased in pitch and volume until it came to an end in a crash that sounded as if tons of dynamite had exploded in some near vicinity. An instant later the buildings began to tremble violently. violent-ly. Glass windows rattled as if they were going to break. Perhaps five seconds sec-onds elapsed and another rumbling noise was heard. Again there was a terrific crash and the earth trembled violently. The tremors were plainly felt in the city, and many people w-ere awakened by the noise and trembling. At first it was thought that an unusually heavy blast had been fired somewhere near the city,' but "when the second crasn came, followed by the violent trembling, trem-bling, it was evident that some force was at work other than dynamite. Observed in Tooele.. The phenomenon was perhaps observed ob-served better, by some of the residents of Tooele. A ' party of young people returning from a dance at Stockton, report that as they were nearing Tooele, the heavens were suddenly lighted with a brilliancy equal to midday. mid-day. When they glanced towards the sky to see the cause of the bewildering light they observed, flying through the sky at terrific speed, a huge ball of fire that looked larger than a barrel. As it flew through the air it left behind be-hind a trail of fire that seemed to stretch for leagues into the heavens. The country -.for miles around shone with the light of day. The snow-cow ered mountains sparkled in the glow like huge stalagmites reaching up towards to-wards the star-studded heavens. The ball of fire pursued its flaming course directly towards the earth and the observers ob-servers watched it until it seemed almost al-most close enough to scorch' the sage brush. As the meteor flew the air resounded re-sounded with the rumble. The sound grew louder and louder as the fiery, visitor vis-itor neared the earth's surface. Suddenly there was a crash that rent the air. Then the earth shook. Houses shook and the sleeping populace of Tooele was awakened with a start. No one would have been surprised to see the earth open a yawning mouth and swallow up the city. After the crash all was darkness again save the streak of fading fire that marked the path of the meteor. Like a streak of suspended sparks this band of light glowed, gradually fading I from a bright red to the blue-gray of I the early morning sky. Struck in the Mountains. Apparently the great fire ball struck !u the mountains somewhere not many miles from Tooele, presumably making h deep hole. The phenomenon was plainly seen by residents of Lehi. who were awakened by the noise and the trembling of the earth. At Bingham the meteor caused some strange electrical disturbances. The inhabitants in-habitants were all awakened by the roaring noise and the crash, which Shook every building in the town. In a few seconds half the population had their heads out of windows looking for the cause of the strange disturbance. The air glowed with an intense light that made reading out of doors an easy matter. An electrical disturbance was set up that caused the telephone bells to ring violently, and all the electric lights in the town performed what is known as a "dip," that is, went down to only a glow, then brightened bright-ened up again. Some of the inhabitants inhabi-tants figured from the time that elapsed between the flash and the report re-port that the meteor fell within a distance dis-tance of five miles of Bingham. Cause of Phenomenon. In the winter months the earth is in the meteoric section of its orbit, being ln perihelion, or nearest the cun. A swarm of meteors revolves about the sun and meteoric demonstrations demonstra-tions are common occurrences in the winter season. These meteors are the' burned-out residue of comets that have long ceased to be visible. These ashes of the comets are blocks ot stone varying in weigh from a few pounds to tons and composed principally of iron and nickel. As they fly about the sun they are cold and dead but when they come into contact with the atmosphere, at-mosphere, traveling at the rate of thousands of miles per minute, the friction heats them to incandescence,-producing incandescence,-producing the glow that is seen while they are in the atmosphere. So hot do they become that a streak of incandescent incan-descent dust is left behind the meteor it flies through the atmosphere. |