News and Miscellany

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Sep 24, 1872

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 40, No. 15.

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News and Miscellany.

“Can you not discern the signs of the times?”

A Meteoric Shower.

A CURIOUS AND BRILLIANT CELESTIAL SCENE.

A PUZZLE FOR THE SAVANTS.

Special dispatch to the St. Paul Pioneer.

LOUISVILLE, Aug. 31.—A wondrous celestial phenomenon was witnessed here about yesterday noon. While the sky was perfectly clear, a faint halo gathered about the sun. It soon assumed a yellowish caste, and in the course of half an hour five circles, tinted with all the colors of the rainbow, made their appearance, one after another, around the sun. Then for nearly two hours, brilliant globes, apparently between one and five inches in diameter, were emitted from the various circles. Some made their appearance very slowly, like bubbles rising to the surface of the water; while others burst apart like the fire balls from Roman candles. Myriads of them were in motion at once. Most of them took a straight line in direction of the earth, while others shot off at a tangent. At first they had a brilliant, white light, which became less intense as they approached the earth. The globules increased in size as they came near, and finally entirely disappeared before reaching the earth. The weather was very cool, although the sun was shining brightly. The wondrous scene was witnessed by nearly every person in the city, and created no little alarm among the ignorant and superstitious. The local savants are puzzled, and can give no explanation of the phenomenon. The popular belief is that it was the long expected meteoric shower.