Research source

the topeka state journal (topeka, kansas) 1892-1980 — ball of fire in the sky

Date of account: Newspaper page published 1898-12-02
Location: topeka, kansas, united states
Source: Chronicling America paranormal and anomalous-report excerpts
Reference: the topeka state journal (topeka, kansas) 1892-1980 · 1898-12-02 · page 07
Rights: public_domain
Language: English OCR
Record updated: 2026-08-24

Record summary

A 1898-12-02 newspaper page contains wording relevant to “ball of fire in the sky”. This is historical reporting or commentary preserved by the Library of Congress; it is not treated as verification that the described event occurred.

Published source text

Read the available text below. Archive transcriptions may contain OCR errors; later context is labelled separately. A recorded claim is not a finding that it happened.

Source passage

Source text · mention only

... sausage. METEOR AT BELOIT. Flaming Ball of fire Across the Sky Astonishes the Residents. Beloit. Dec. 2. About half past ten o'clock Wednesday night many of our people sav; one of the meteors that are said to be falling now. For a few moments it was as light as day and when the meteor exploded it made a beautiful sight, the report not being heard tor some time after. The meteor traveled in a northwest erly direction and looked like a large ball of fire, leaving a flaming trail be hind it. Many persons were awakened from their slumber by the loud report, thinking it may have been a boiler ex plosion or thunder, the ...

Historical context

Contextual commentary · mention only

This OCR excerpt may mix reporting, humour, folklore, syndicated copy, editorial comment and witness claims. Newspaper title, date and original page remain available for source-critical reading.

Modern context

Contextual commentary · mention only

Lattice can compare reported features across periods while preserving uncertainty, OCR limitations and the possibility of conventional explanation, exaggeration, copying or satire.

Investigate related details with Anomaly Graph’s account-based search, or read how matching and provenance work.