John Winthrop

“ A body revolving round the Earth in a circle, at the height of about 40 or 50 miles, would move but 7 miles in a second; and in a very eccentric orb, near a parabola, but 10 miles: which falls much short of the velocity of your Meteor, which was of 30 miles in a second [1] .
2. The Earth's annual velocity round the Sun is near 16 miles in a second; and a body revolving in a very eccentric orb would have, at the same distance from the Sun, a velocity of 22 miles in a second. ”

“ The only observation I could get for this purpose was of the right ascension of the Moon, which I endeavoured to find, by comparing with that of a fixed star. But whether any mistake was committed in counting the clock, or in writing down the observations, or whether the position of the telescope was disturbed by any accident in the interval between the Moon's and star's passing, I am not able now to say. However, as I am sensible that observation is not to be depended on, I think it needless to insert it here. ”

“ The Sun rose behind a cloud that lay along the horizon, but soon got above it; and at 4h 18′ we had the pleasure of seeing Venus on the Sun; though dimly indeed at first. But the planet presently became distinct, and her limb well defined. Upon this, I applyed myself to observe the passage of the Sun's and Venus's preceding limbs, by the vertical, and of their lower limbs by the horizontal, wires in the reflector, and made the following observations; one of my assistants counting the clock, and the other writing down the observations as I made them ”

“ The above observations gave me several altitudes and azimuths of Venus, from whence I deduced her right ascensions and declinations; and from them, her longitudes and latitudes. The result of the whole, or the planet's difference in longitude from the Sun's centre and her latitude, is set down above, against each observation of Venus. ”

“ II. A Meteor on the 24th of November 1742, in the Southern parts of New England.
In New Haven, in Connecticut, one man saw a ball of fire about 4 or 6 inches in diameter, passing along from the South-west to the North-east, and a stream of white, bright, and clear fire followed it, of near the same bigness, and of considerable length. Then the ball broke into sundry small pieces, and vanished with a kind of flash; and, a full minute after, he heard a noise, much like that of rumbling thunder, and, he says, about as long again as a clap of thunder usually is. ”

“ The hypotheses hitherto advanced are liable to great difficulties, and the hints you have given in the conclusion towards another appear intirely new, and free from several objections with which the others are embarassed ”

“ Clap observes, that, though the informations he had received differ as to particular circumstances, thus much in general seems to be certain, that people in most, if not all the towns between Norwalk, near the West end of Connecticut, and Braintree near Boston, which is at least 200 miles, heard an unusual noise in the air, like thunder or the discharge of a cannon; and sundry people, in most places, about a minute or more before the noise, saw a ball or stream of fire in the air, moving in some form or other. ”