from The London Magazine, 1784

(page 123)

In Paper XI. Dr. Cooper, Arch-deacon of York, gives an account of the meteor on the 18th of August, 1783, which he saw. The letter, which is addressed to Sir Joseph Banks, is dated from Hartlepool, near Stockton. Dr. C. was on a journey to the sea-side. The weather was sultry, the atmosphere hazy, the night was dark and still. Neither the road, the hedges, nor even the horses heads were perceptible: sulphureous vapours seemed to surround him on every side, when a brilliant tremulous light appeared to the N.W. by N.

At first it seemed stationary, but soon burst from its position, and took its course to the S.E. by E. passing directly over their heads with a buzzing noise, at the height of sixty yards. Its tail seemed to be twenty-four or thirty feet in length. At last it divided into several glowing balls of fire. Two explosions were then heard. The light was the most vivid the Doctor had ever seen. The horses on which they rode shrunk with fear, and the utmost consternation appeared in the countenances of several people whom they met on the road.