The Great Meteor Procession of 1913
Explanation:
One hundred years ago today the
Great Meteor Procession of 1913 occurred, a sky event
described by some
as "magnificent" and "entrancing" and which left people feeling "spellbound" and
"privileged".
Because one had to be in a right location, outside, and under clear skies, only about
1,000 people noted seeing the
procession.
Lucky sky gazers -- particularly those near
Toronto,
Canada -- had their eyes
drawn to an amazing train of
bright meteors
streaming across the sky,
in groups, over the course of a few minutes.
A current leading progenitor hypothesis is that a single
large meteor once grazed the Earth's atmosphere
and broke up.
When the resulting pieces next encountered the Earth, they came in over
south-central Canada,
traveled thousands of kilometers as they crossed over the northeastern
USA,
and eventually fell into the central
Atlantic ocean.
Pictured above is a digital scan of a
halftone
hand-tinted image by the artist
Gustav
Hahn
who was fortunate enough to witness
the event first hand.
Although nothing quite like the
Great Meteor Procession
of 1913
has been reported since, numerous bright fireballs -- themselves
pretty spectacular -- have since been
recorded, some even
on
video.
Did a relative see this?:
Please tell us in APOD's discussion forum
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
