◆ SpookStack

HARVARD COLLEGE OBSERVATORY CAMBRIDGE 38, MASSACHUSETTS July 28, 1964 Mr. Edward A. Stewart, Jr. 152 Mount Holly Avenue Mount Holly, New Jersey Dear Mr. Stewart: The object you saw was a bright meteor, sometimes called a "fireball" or a"bolide". Almost all very bright meteors are small bodies moving in orbits rather like the orbits of asteroids, and probably are fragments of asteroids. The direction of motion of your meteor is consistent with that sort of orbit. A good many bright meteors strike the earth each day, but most go unnoticed. We have received another report of the same meteor from Wilmington, Delaware. I am sending your observation to the Moonwatch Division of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory here in Cambridge, which has a continuing program for analysis of visual observations of bright meteors. Since it is very rarely possible for the professional astronomer to observe these meteors, most of what is known about them depends on this sort of lucky chance. Sincerely yours, Richard B:YSouthworth