[meteorite-list] Spanish bolide

From: Pekka Savolainen <pekka.savolainen_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:31:59 2004
Message-ID: <3FFB8CA1.1080604_at_dlc.fi>

http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/urltrurl?lp=es_en&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.estrelladigital.es%2Farticulo.asp%3Fsec%3Desp%26fech%3D06%2F01%2F2004%26name%3Dmeteorito


The CSIC discards that the craters found in River basin must to the fall
of no meteorite

They look for without success between the provinces of Leon and Palencia
the rest of the meteorite that was sighted by thousands of citizens Sunday

The scientists speak of a "bolide", since they consider that meteorite
cannot be denominated until its extraterreste nature is not verified


Madrid



The experts of the Superior Council of Investigaciones Cienti'ficas
(CSIC) have determined that the craters found in Minglanilla (River
basin), do not have relation with a meteorítico impact and the possible
fall of rest of the fire ball that was Vista in several provinces the
past Sunday. Meanwhile, the Civil Guard, and scientific fans sent
themselves yesterday without success to the search of the rest of the
fire ball sighted yesterday by thousands of citizens. The Superior
Council of Investigaciones Cienti'ficas (CSIC) affirms that he is a
"bolide", since he considers that it is not possible to be spoken of
meteorítica fall until rest do not exist that verify the
extraterrestrial nature of the samples.

According to the Subdelegation informed into the Government of River
basin, the investigators of the CSIC that moved at night of Monday to
Minglanilla have discarded that the found craters of small size in the
zone have been originated by a cosmic phenomenon of the characteristics
of the impact of a meteor. Concretely, the results of the detailed
inspection of the land "indicate that it does not exist relation with
the materials, structures and effects associated with impacts of
meteorítico type", added the Subdelegation of the Government in River basin.

However, he emphasized that the fact that a meteorítico impact has
discarded does not imply that the investigations in other zones of the
peninsula become paralyzed, although the experts have reiterated who the
probability of finding fragments is little. The investigation has been
carried out after in the afternoon-night of the last Sunday a fire in
strange circumstances in the place was originated "Corral of Juan
Sayas", of Minglanilla.

Several people assured that they had seen fall in the zone some of the
"fire balls" that afternoon flew over of Sunday the Spanish airspace.
For this reason, the Command of the Civil Guard of River basin decided
to inspect meticulous of the zone to the light of the day, in whose
course a series of craters of small size within the perimeter of the
fire was discovered, in which 3 hectares burned with scrub and mounts low.

Once discovered and before the possibility that they could be related to
the cosmic phenomenon registered Sunday, it was decided to start up the
protocol anticipated for similar situations, that it includes among
other performances to surround the zone of the possible impact and to
give warning to the CESIC in case it considers advisable to carry out an
investigation.

The CESIC decided to send a team of investigators headed by the
geologist and person in charge of the Laboratory of Certification and
Meteorite Identification of the Center of Astrobiology, Jesus
Marti'nez-Fri'as, who after examining the zone has determined that in
her there are indications of meteorítico no impact.

Search of the meteorite

Several patrols and a helicopter of the Civil Guard, next to numerous
neighbors, unfolded a device the day throughout to locate the rest of
the object that apparently fell between Leon and Palencia.

The search was centered in a strip of twenty-five kilometers located
between Renedo de Valderaduey (Leon) and I keep (Palencia), where
diverse neighbors of the zone and witnesses assure that a meteorite
fragment hit against the ground.

  From first diverse hours patrols of the Civil Guard and near half
hundred of neighbors track the near place known like Valdequintana Tip
and a bordering valley.

This zone, of an approximated surface of 20,000 hectares of pine and
mounts low, was the place where one of the main witnesses of the cosmic
phenomenon, the shepherd Manuel González, supposedly saw fall the
meteorite that flew over Renedo de Valderaduey.

Also in Soria, agents of the Service of Protection of the Nature of the
Civil Guard looked for without success rest of the meteorite that
supposedly fell in the environs of the soriana population of Almarza.

A neighbor of the locality of Hen house, next to Almarza, informed to
the Civil Guard of which Sunday at night saw fall a great fire ball from
the sky, reason why a group of agents inspected the zone, unfruitfully,
although the measurement was made by security, according to the
Subdelegation of the Government.

The Civil Guard also received the call of a neighbor of Logroño that
explained that while it went in his vehicle towards the Rioja and to its
pass by the province of Soria, observed until in two occasions a
fleeting star of color orange, greater of the normal thing.

Also in Castellón, the Civil Guard continued without success the search
of a supposed small plane that could yesterday have fallen and that was
sighted from the port of Nules.

Firemen, mobilized local police and Civil Guard

A call received from the Port of Burriana (Castellón) on the telephone
112 that alerted of the possible fall of a small plane or a "fire ball"
mobilized firemen, local police and Civil Guard of several
castellonenses localities.

Also the 112 of Extremadura received several calls from diverse points
of the region that noticed the fall of incandescent objects, and
neighbors of different localities from the province of Huesca
communicated to the Civil Guard the sighting of a luminous object in the
horizon and its later fall.

Before the happened phenomenon, the Superior Council of Investigaciones
Cienti'ficas (CSIC) considers that it is not possible to be spoken of
meteorítica fall until rest do not exist that verify the
extraterrestrial nature of the samples and considered that the
probabilities of finding fragments are very little.

The CSIC, the greater public organism of Spanish investigation, think
that everything aims at that it is typical the luminance and acoustic
fenomenología of a bolide, is to say any object, and to its associated
phenomenon, that enters the terrestrial atmosphere. The samples that
could appear will be analyzed by the Center of Astrobiology, mixed
center CSIC-INTA.

In this sense, the geologist Jesus Marti'nez-Fri'as, person in charge of
the Laboratory of Certification and Meteorite Identification of the
Center of Astrobiology, said that the fall of these Earth objects is not
exceptional and needed that in many cases they cause "deceptive" a
visual effect on his dimensions.

For this scientist, one is an object "of great dimensions", of the size
"of a villa", that enters the atmosphere, although in many cases this
one takes to other small satellites associate.

Marti'nez-Fri'as indicated that the meteorites that recover in the Earth
come generally from the asteroid belt which they orbit between Mars and
Jupiter, and said that some of those asteroids make eccentric orbits and
more approach the Earth and are catched by the gravity of this one,
which causes that the bolide forms "".

In a similar line the astronomers of the Network of Investigation of
Bolides and Meteorites, for those who the "fire ball" has all the
characteristics of a comet, "by their fragility and luminosity"
pronounced themselves, declared their spokesman, Jordi Llorca Pique'.

On the other hand, the director of the Observatory of Astronomy "Ramon
Maria Aller" of Santiago, Jose Docobo Angel, explained that the sighted
object could have "an important initial mass, between fifty and one
hundred tons".

It showed that the bolide could explode at some moment of the passage
and that this deflagration was visible because it took place "to certain
height, between the fifty and one hundred kilometers of height".

It explained that the phenomenon was "with enough probability" ' bólidó,
that is to say, the luminous radiation produced by the combustion of a
cosmic stone that enters the terrestrial atmosphere at a speed of tens
of kilometers per second.

-- 
Pekka Savolainen
Jokiharjuntie 4
FIN-71330 Rasala
FINLAND
+ 358 400 818 912
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Received on Tue 06 Jan 2004 11:35:45 PM PST