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(Also To: Meteor Observers Mailing List )
Victor Noto asks:
>Could all these fireballs be the precursors to the big rock?
>Is an extinction period beating at our door in the form of
>mounting numbers of bolides?
Yipes, Victor! Well, before we all run out screaming to buy bolide pills, can I
ask what this last statement is based on? Are there some studies I haven't
heard about positing increased meteorite impact and/or fireball instances?
(By the way, that brings up another point to keep in mind: increased fireballs
won't necessarily correlate with increased meteorites at all! Fireballs usually
result from only relatively massive objects, whose density or composition are
NOT conducive to their surviving atmospheric entry.)
This could be a general question to the list: have any of the more experienced
long-term observers noticed an upswing in fireballs this past 10, 20, or 30
years? (NORMAN & BOB: this question's especially directed at you!) Do any of
our AMS or European subscribers know of such results in meteorics literature?
If there ARE studies pointing in the direction of increased fireball activity
(or increased meteorite incidence), I'd genuinely love to see references on
them! This would seem a pretty significant find. Pointers appreciated...
Clear skies,
Lew