[meteorite-list] Fireball in sky likely meteoroid

From: Roman <Roman_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:48:09 2004
Message-ID: <027801c14c8e$d9cde160$cec4fea9_at_k6l3v9>

This I missed! And if I were looking up, I would have seen it.
There was also a small write-up in the Toronto Sun.
Roman Jirasek


Wednesday, October 3, 2001

Fireball in sky likely meteoroid, astronomy expert believes

By PETER GEIGEN-MILLER-- London Free Press


LONDON, ON -- A bright light that flashed across the sky in the London
region might have been caused by a fairly large meteoroid, a University of
Western Ontario astronomy professor says.

John Landstreet, whose interests include meteorites, asteroids and comets,
said the kind of flash of light described by witnesses over a wide area is
typical of a rock ranging in size from a football to a garbage can burning
up in the atmosphere.

Provincial police reported calls about the phenomenon from the St. Thomas
area, Kerwood and Poplar Hills. Reports to The Free Press came from the
Strathroy and Mt. Brydges areas.

It was described as a blue and yellow flame accompanied by a ground-shaking
boom.

Mike Suto, a Straffordville resident, said he was sitting on his front porch
when a fireball soared northwest through the sky about 7:40 p.m.

"It had a tail to it and white smoke," Suto said. "It appeared to burn up
and it looked like things were dropping off."

Suto said he heard no noise but other witnesses did.

Landstreet said this kind of space rock would come screaming into the
atmosphere at 20 to 30 kilometres a second -- fast enough to travel from
London to Toronto in 10 seconds.

"It slams into the atmosphere very hard. There's an awful lot of energy
dissipated and the thing gets really hot . . . and boils of most of its
material. It's typically really bright for a few seconds."

Landstreet would be interested in recovering pieces of the object if any are
found.
Received on Thu 04 Oct 2001 12:41:36 AM PDT