WHITE BALL OF FIRE.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 16115, 2 May 1923, Page 10

WHITE BALL OF FIRE.

LARGE METEORITE FALLS

STRAW SET ABLAZE

Lnrgp meteorites are of extremely rare occurrence andl mucli interest will be aroused l by the account of one that fell in the cantonment of Quetta, on the north-west frontier of India, on January 25.

The molten mass hit the centre of a large stack of baled straw andl set it alight, and the hole made by the meteorite in entering remained clearly observable for some hours, A striking feature was its shape, which was a circle of only some two feet diameter. The direction of the hole showed! that the meteorite fell to earth at an angle of about 46dqg, The only eye-witness at close quarters seems to have been a native watchman, who saw what ho describes as a. white ball of fire coming from the skies, accompaniedl by a loud! roaring noise. To more distant witnesses the meteorite appeared as a broad straight ribbon of lightning, which terminated 1 in a deafening thunderclap. The windows of houses three miles away was shaken. Examination of flip cooled and! solidified substance of (he meteorite, supplemented by observations of the stack before it burned: out, lcad ; to the lielief that the meteorite lutdl n definite shape wit'll a distinct- head l and (nil. The meteoric material collected' weighed' some six tons and 1 had a. volume of some 500 cubic feet,