* Astronomy

Signor Denza, Director-General of the Italian Meteorological Association, sends us an account of the remarkable aerolite which fell in the province of Brescia on February 16, and to which we referred last week. On that date, at 2.43 p.m. local time, a strong detonation was heard in many places of the province of Brescia and even in the neighbouring provinces of Cremona, Verona, Mantua, Placenza, and Parma. The detonation was quite awful in the commune of Alfianello, in the district of Verolanuova, Brescia. This was found to be caused by a meteorite which exploded a few hundred yards above Alfianello. A peasant saw it fall in the direction of N.E. to S.W., or, more exactly, N.N.E. to S.S.W., at a distance of about 150 yards. When the meteoric mass fell to the earth, it produced on the ground, in consequence of the transmission of the shock, a movement similar to that of an earthquake, which was felt in the surrounding districts; the telegraph wires oscillated and window frames shook.
Excerpt from Nature, 29 March 1883