Captain Donald's observation of a star shower at sea
Published October 5, 2026 at 1:40 AM
Contributed by
Millennial Star Research
Captain Donald of the ship Preston, while sailing 38 miles S.S.W. of Kinsale, observed a massive meteor shower lasting from 2 a.m. until after daylight. The shooting stars appeared as innumerable rockets flying across the heavens from S.E. to N.W., visible after the sky cleared from an overcast state.
Fuller account of this event (the complete account as preserved in The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 30, No. 49 (5 December 1868), p. 782):
Captain Donald, of the ship Preston, while sailing 38 miles S.S.W. of Kinsale, observed a massive meteor shower, lasting from 2 a.m. until after daylight. The shooting stars appeared as innumerable rockets flying across the heavens from S.E. to N.W., visible after the sky cleared from an overcast state.
In Their Own Words
“Captain Donald, of the Preston, from Bombay at Liverpool, reports that on the 14th instant, when about 38 miles S.S.W. of Kinsale, from two a.m. till after daylight, meteors appeared to be bursting in every direction. The sky at first was overcast and cloudy, but towards daylight cleared, and the shooting stars appeared like innumerable rockets flying across the heavens. The principal direction of their course was from S.E. towards N.W. — Millennial Star 30:49”
Sources & References
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), 5 December 1868 (Vol. 30, No. 49). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1868-12-05_30_49 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Complete account: The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 30, No. 49 (5 December 1868), p. 782 https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1868-12-05_30_49
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