"Meteoric Displays," coverage of a meteor fly-by in 1860

"It first appeared in the southeast, and presented the appearance of an ordinary rocket, but as it moved onward it grew in size until at the moment of its disappearance its apparent diameter was equal to the fall moon, The train or tail was not of great length, the whole resembling an elongated cone. All the hues of the rainbow, painted in fire, surrounded it, constantly scattering and throwing off sparks, rivaling in brilliancy the diamond when illumined by the sun."

—Meteoric Displays. - THE GREAT METEOR OF AUG. 2., New York Times.

(HT: Michael Roston)

• [Christopher Griffin]

  Can we get a history on the word “rocket”?  I wasn’t aware that was a word/concept used in the 1800s.

  • [kaplanfx]

    Here you go: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_rockets

    Rockets developed it seems, basically as soon as gunpowder invented / discovered.  Rockets as you think of them thought, according to wikipedia, appear to have first been used in the 1780s, so well before this article.

  • [OldBrownSquirrel]

     ”…and the rockets’ red glare…”

    - Francis Scott Key, 1812

• [Ernest Valdemar]

  ‘Rose’ was calling ‘Master;’ ‘Caroline’ said the moon had fallen and was burning up; ‘Nick’ said ‘the fire ran into my eyes and woke me up; and ‘Isaac,’ jumping, asleep, from the ground, insisted the world was on fire.

  Slaves say the darnedest things.