[meteorite-list] Re: Meteorites Don't Pop Corn

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:43:36 2004
Message-ID: <200107290530.WAA29964_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

> Because bolide chasers have a
> saying, "If a fireball results in a SONIC BOOM, then
> there ARE meteorites on the ground!"

I think sonic booms are a good sign that a meteorite may have
landed, but it is not a guarantee. You only need to
look at the Tunguska event to realize that.

> 2) There have been some fireballs observed that
> DIDN'T produce a "terminal flare" (but then were
> observed to "fade into dark-flight"), yet a sonic boom
> was still heard, anyway!

If there are clouds in the sky, they could mask the view
of the the fireball, but sonic booms would not be blocked
by clouds.

> 3) It has been confirmed that multiple sonic booms
> have followed after a solitary fragmentation event.
> (Meaning, they weren't echoes. So, how does a single
> explosion produce a number of booms? The fragments
> produced the sonic booms, not the fragmentation event,
> itself.)

Multiple sonic booms can occur from fragmentations, or perhaps
even if the meteor has an odd shape. The Space Shuttle
creates two sonic booms when it is traveling
through the atmosphere at supersonic speeds. I think we tend to assume
meteors are somewhat spherical, but that is not always the case.
I could see an irregularly-shaped object, particularly if it
is large, being able to create multiple sonic booms.

Ron Baalke
Received on Sun 29 Jul 2001 01:30:13 AM PDT