A Splendid Meteor Seen Over Salt Lake City
Published October 4, 2026 at 7:31 AM
Contributed by
Millennial Star Research
On June 28th, a meteor passed over Salt Lake City from south to northwest. It appeared as a brilliant pale flame, bright enough to allow people to read common print for a few seconds. It eventually exploded into sparks.
Fuller account of this event (as retold in The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 14, No. 30 (18 September 1852), p. 478):
A splendid meteor was seen on Friday, June 28th, at five minutes past nine, p. m., over this (Salt Lake) City. It passed in a direction from south to northwest, forming an arch of about 15 degrees. It fell in the shape of a brilliant pale flame, which was of sufficient dazzling brightness to have enabled persons to read common print for a few seconds. When it exploded, it disappeared in sparks, and was as beautiful a scene as the eye could behold.
In Their Own Words
“A splendid meteor was seen on Friday, June 28th, at five minutes past nine, p. m., over this (Salt Lake) City. It passed in a direction from south to northwest, forming an arch of about 15 degrees. It fell in the shape of a brilliant pale flame, which was of sufficient dazzling brightness to have enabled persons to read common print for a few seconds. When it exploded, it disappeared in sparks, and was as beautiful a scene as the eye could behold. — Millennial Star 14:30”
Sources & References
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), 18 September 1852 (Vol. 14, No. 30). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1852-09-18_14_30 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Fuller account: The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 14, No. 30 (18 September 1852), p. 478 https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1852-09-18_14_30
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