On almost any fine night, after a short watch of the heavens, we may see the well-known appearance of "shooting stars." At ordinary times these are small, are far between, and occur indifferently in all parts of the heavens; but on certain nights they show themselves in great number, and of such brilliancy as to present a spectacle of much magnificence.
- Rocky Mountain Sun, Aspen, Colorado, Sept. 30, 1882
© Frontier Historical SocietyA meteorite was discovered by two men in the 1940s outside of Rifle. The meteor, primarily composed of iron, is officially listed in the Catalogue of Meteorites.
A meteor streaked across Aspen's night sky in early November 1886. The trail of fire along its decent from the southwest over Aspen Mountain to the head of Hunter Creek caught the notice of grocer and Aspen Mayor, Bob Hardeman. The next morning Hardeman and a friend proceeded to Hunter Creek and along the way gathered accounts from others reporting a whizzing sound and the meteor's fearful velocity, which caused livestock in fields to stampede and cows the next morning to produce sour milk.
Seven miles up Hunter Creek Hardeman found a grove of timber on fire leading to a five foot deep crater containing the still hot meteorite. Extracting the meteorite with a shovel, the party dragged the 20 pound object into the creek to cool it. The Rocky Mountain Sun reported the submersion of the meteorite into Hunter Creek proved fatal to "hundreds of trout." The newspaper also reported that Mr. Hardeman "brought several of those fish to town and had them cooked and vouches for them being quite palatable with the exception of a faint taste of brimstone, which could not be eradicated without a plentiful supply of salt." Undoubtedly, the meteor's display in Hardeman's store brought attention to his establishment and an increase in business.
Comment: For more information about what might be coming down the pike in the near future read: Comets and the Horns of Moses by Laura Knight-Jadczyk