[meteorite-list] Meteors Raining From the Sky

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:28:20 2004
Message-ID: <200310031632.JAA10711_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://planetary.org/html/news/articlearchive/headlines/2003/meteors_galore.html

Meteors Raining From the Sky
By Melanie Melton Knocke
The Planetary Society
October 2, 2003

Meteors raining from the heavens this past week have not only provided
impressive sky shows for those fortunate (or unfortunate) to be in their paths -
but have also burn down homes, injured people, and punched a hole through a
two-story house.

Encounter #1: September 23, 2003 - New Orleans, Louisiana

Roy Fausset came home to find his newly remodeled bathroom looking like a war
zone with debris everywhere and a big hole punched in ceiling. Further
investigation revealed a large, basketball-sized hole in his roof, a destroyed
desk on top of a hole in the floor of his daughter's second story bedroom, and a
hole in the bathroom floor leading to a crawl space beneath the house.

Neighbors in the area reported hearing a loud noise, like a car crash, a little
after 4:00 p.m. that afternoon, but no one had seen anything out of place -
until Fausset got home, that is.

In the crawl space of Fausset's house, investigators discovered several chucks
of a sandy-colored rock whose outer layer appeared somewhat burnt. Samples of
the mysterious intruder were taken to Tulane University for testing where it was
discovered to be a stony meteorite, one of the more common types of space rocks.

It is rare for a meteor to survive its passage through Earth's thick atmosphere
without completely burning up in the process. For one to punch through someone's
living quarters is extremely rare - or was so until this week. Read on.

Encounter #2: September 24, 2003 - South Wales, Great Britian

A teenager, Jon Burnett, was outside taking pictures of his skateboarding
friends around 6:00 in the evening when he looked up and saw what appeared to be
a large fireball in the sky. He took a photograph of the frightening sight, and
then a couple of minutes later took another image, showing a fading glow.

Unsure of what he had just seen, he sent a copy of the image to NASA requesting
information. The next thing Jon knew, NASA had posted his image on their
Astronomy Image of the Day site claiming that it was an image of a large meteor
entering Earth's atmosphere. Upon further reflection, however, some are
questioning NASA's original conclusion.

Neil Bone, the Director of the British Astronomical Association's (BAA) Meteor
Section believes that Jon was seeing was sunlight reflected off of an airplane's
contrail - not a meteor entering Earth's atmosphere. The BAA keeps track of all
meteor sightings and there were no other reports of a fireball on the evening of
September 24.

Also, the fact that Jon was able to take a second photograph a couple of minutes
later and still capture the red glow causes one to question the fireball theory.
A fireball passes through the atmosphere fast, within a few seconds. If it had
been a meteor, it is highly unlikely that there would be any evidence of its
passage a couple of minutes after its appearance.

Regardless of its nature, it's still a cool image!

Encounter #3: September 27, 2003 - Orissa region of India

The people of two small villages in the eastern Indian state of Orissa had their
evening rudely interrupted when pieces of flaming rock started falling out of
the sky. There are reports that anywhere from three to twenty people were
injured in the incident and that some of the village's grass huts were burned to
the ground.

A brilliant fireball preceded the rain of fire in Orissa. This fireball was seen
by many from several districts within the state, covering an area of almost
14,500 square kilometers.

Officials from the state government and the Geological Survey of India are
investigating the area, looking for samples of the meteorite that caused all of
the panic and destruction. Several pieces have been recovered so far, with the
two largest pieces weighing about three kilograms each. The surfaces of these
rocks are black, while their interiors are grey.

What makes this event extremely unusual is the fact that these pieces were
actually on fire when they hit the ground. Normally, meteors are barely warm by
the time they hit the ground. The reason behind this flaming shower has yet to
be understood.

Encounter #4: September 29,2003 - Western Europe

Just after 10:00 p.m. local time, people in France, Germany, Belgium, and the
Netherlands were witness to a giant fireball. It appears the large meteor passed
over Northern France, in the area of Verdun.

Encounter #5: September 29, 2003 - California's San Francisco Bay Area, United
States

Just before 8:00 p.m. local time, people in the San Jose area of California
witnessed a giant fireball streaking over the South Bay. The meteor was
traveling from east to west and was visible for three to ten seconds. Some
witnesses saw the meteor flare (or brighten) several times before disappearing
below the horizon.

So, why all of the action?

Good question - but no one really knows the answer. Normally, a meteor (or
shooting star, or falling star) is just a tiny piece of space dust that burns up
as it enters Earth's atmosphere. On any given night, we can see three to four
meteors per hour - if you happen to be looking in the right area of the sky at
the right time. Occasionally, there are meteor showers, where the number of
meteors per hour increases to 20 - 50.

This past week, however, this was not the case. There were no predicted meteor
showers, just large rogue meteors that made their way to Earth in spectacular
fashion. I guess this is Mother Nature's way of letting us know who's boss.
Received on Fri 03 Oct 2003 12:32:14 PM PDT