The 1860 Great Meteor procession occurred on July 20, 1860. It was a unique

meteor A meteoroid () is a small rocky or metallic body in outer space. Meteoroids are defined as objects significantly smaller than asteroids, ranging in size from grains to objects up to a meter wide. Objects smaller than this are classified as micr ...

ic phenomenon reported from locations across the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. American landscape painter

Frederic Church Frederic Edwin Church (May 4, 1826 – April 7, 1900) was an American landscape painter born in Hartford, Connecticut. He was a central figure in the Hudson River School of American landscape painters, best known for painting large landscapes, ...

saw and painted a spectacular string of fireball

s cross the Catskill evening sky, an extremely rare Earth-grazing

meteor procession A meteor procession occurs when an Earth-grazing meteor breaks apart, and the fragments travel across the sky in the same path. According to physicist Donald Olson, only a few occurrences are known, including:Falk, DanForensic astronomer solves ...

. It is believed that this was the event referred to in the poem ''Year of Meteors, 1859-60'', by

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among t ...

. In 2010, 150 years later, it was determined to be an Earth-grazing meteor procession.

References

{{Modern impact events Meteoroids 1860 in science 1860 in the United States 18600720 Modern Earth impact events Earth-grazing fireballs July 1860 events

See also

References