[meteorite-list] Wales: why no sonic boom

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:28:23 2004
Message-ID: <200310081910.MAA25160_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

>
> ... I'm curious why there was no supersonic boom mentioned
> by the observers.Was the plane too high??

They could have been too far away. You can have sightings of fireballs
without hearing the sonic booms. In fact, meteorites have been known
to land without anyone having heard a sonic boom. A recent example is the
Louisana fall that fell through a house. Sonic booms are only heard
when you are relatively close to the fireball, about 50 miles or so.
Also, sonic booms may be heard but not recognized, and thus not reported.
For example, the Space Shuttle sometimes flies over Los Angeles when it lands.
The Shuttle generates
a double sonic boom (one for each wing). The first time I heard
the Shuttle sonic booms, I wasn't expecting them, and thought it was
noise from someone dropping some boxes on the floor above me. Though I
heard the sonic booms clearly, they weren't particularly loud, and I had
dismissed them until someone mentioned later that the Shuttle had flown
overhead.

Ron Baalke
Received on Wed 08 Oct 2003 03:10:45 PM PDT