Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Aerolite

​Aerolite (αήρ, air, and λίθος, a stone), a stony or metallic body, which, falling through the atmosphere, reaches the earth's surface. These meteoric stones generally contain a considerable proportion of iron; indeed, the iron in some of these substances exceeds the siliceous matter, and some have then given them the name of meteoric irons. A remarkable aerolite that fell at Ægospotami, in 467 B. C., was, according to Pliny, to be seen in his day, and was then as large as a waggon. In 1492 one fell at Ensisheim, in Alsace, that weighed 270 ℔.; and, not to mention others, one of 12 ℔ weight is reported to have fallen in California in August 1873, which penetrated the earth to the depth of 8 feet, and when dug up was so hot that it could not be handled. Aerolite often reach the each in groups or showers, as at LÁigle, in Normany, in 1803; at New Concord, Ohio, in May 1860; and at Dhurmsala, in the Punjaub, in July the same year. The area on which a shower of aerolite falls is usually elliptical, the largest stones being near one end of the ellipse, the major axis of which extends in some cases to a length of eighteen or twenty miles. See Meteor.