[meteorite-list] Texas, New Mexico Residents Rattled by Bright Flash, Loud Boom

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon May 8 00:08:26 2006
Message-ID: <200605080406.VAA03144_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.kvia.com/Global/story.asp?S=4865818&nav=AbC0

Residents rattled by bright flash, loud boom Thursday night
ABC 7
May 5, 2006

EL PASO, TX. - Countless area residents were shaken late Thursday night
by an apparent meteorite disintegrating in the skies over West Texas and
Southern New Mexico.

Witnesses reported seeing a trail of light streaking from east to west
about 9:55pm Thursday night, followed by a bright, white flash.

Reports of a massive 'boom' came in from the Upper Valley in the west to
Horizon City in the east.

According to Apache Point Observatory in New Mexico, the control tower
Holloman Air Force Base saw the streak of light at about the same time.
The observatory also reports that the meteorite may have been a "bolide."

The term bolide, according to the US Geological Service, is "used to
imply that we do not know the precise nature of the impacting
body...whether it is a rocky or metallic asteroid, or an icy comet..."

Officials with the Apache Point Observatory add that the object in
this particular event has "a 50% chance of being space junk, finally
reentering the atmosphere." They also estimate the size of the object at
somewhere between "a loaf of bread and a mid-sized boulder."

The previous occurrence of a bolide strike in the Borderland region was
in October 1997. At that time it was estimated that an object the size
of a refrigerator entered the atmosphere over West Texas and exploded.

The resultant boom from the explosion rattled homes and businesses from
Fabens to Las Cruces.
Received on Mon 08 May 2006 12:06:22 AM PDT