[meteorite-list] Suspected Meteor Streaks Across Eastern Australian Sky

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue May 16 12:21:15 2006
Message-ID: <200605161539.IAA04882_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200605/s1640158.htm

Suspected meteorite streaks across Qld sky
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
May 16, 2006

A suspected meteorite has brightened up the night for people across
eastern Australia.

A large green ball of light was seen in many parts of Queensland at
about 6:30pm AEST.

Peter Hall from the Astronomical Association of Queensland says he has
been inundated with calls.

He says it can often be a spectacular sight.

"It depends which chemical the rocks are made out of that determines
their colour," he said.

"They travel at about 50 kilometres a second, you don't often get them
that bright.

"There's 7,000 a day really, but they mightn't be as bright as that you
just have to be in the right place to see them - like tonight."

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http://www.couriermail.news.com.au/story/0,20797,1

Light show last night
Erica Thompson
The Courier Mail (Australia)
May 17, 2006

NO, you weren't seeing things.

Residents of Queensland and northern NSW were treated to a spectacular
light show last night when a mysterious green light, believed to be a
meteorite, streaked across the sky.

Australian Transport Safety Bureau spokesman David Gray said it was
spotted over Brisbane's bay area and the city just after 6pm.

"It was sighted from our traffic control tower and a number of aircraft
in the area," he said.

"The reports we have been getting suggest it appears to be a green
flarey type of material."

Residents from the Gold and Sunshine coasts and even northern NSW also
reported sightings.

"It could be a meteorite or space junk," Mr Gray said.

"We have no idea what it is."

It is believed the object came to rest in Warwick, on the Darling Downs,
a short time later after police initially received reports of a plane
crash.

A police spokeswoman said a farmer had raised the alarm after seeing a
"giant fireball" on his property, but no fire was found despite an
extensive search.

Peter Hall, of the Queensland Astrological Association, said it was most
likely a meteorite.

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http://www.thesundaymail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,19161692%255E1248,00.html

Meteor shower sparks alarm
The Sunday Mail (Australi)
May 16, 2006

SOUTH-east Queensland residents have been startled by a bright, green
ball of streaking light that initially sparked fears of a plane crash.

A police spokeswoman said the suspected meteor was seen travelling east
to west in the region from Bribie Island, across the Sunshine and Gold
Coasts as far inland as Warwick.

She said a Warwick farmer alerted police about 6.30pm (AEST) of what he
thought was a "fire ball" from a plane crashing on his property.

A search of the area found nothing.

Police were then inundated by sightings of a "green ball of light".

Andre Claydon of the Springbrook Observatory near the Gold Coast said he
had received scores of sightings of what he thought was a meteor shower
from across the region.

He said the meteor shower would have appeared much closer than it
actually was.

"As it comes in through our atmosphere we get a magnification effect so
it always looks a lot closer but it is probably 60 to 70km inside our
atmosphere," he said on ABC Radio.

"I had a number of phone calls specifically from the eastern part of
Australia regarding a meteor shower that has come through and broken up
into a few pieces."

The Astronomical Association of Queensland's Peter Hall told ABC Radio:
"It sounds like a meteor to me.

"Most of them are the size of a grain of sand but this one must have
been larger."
Received on Tue 16 May 2006 11:39:24 AM PDT