[meteorite-list] Fireball Reports

From: Robert Verish <bolidechaser_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:18:28 2004
Message-ID: <20030220215619.85149.qmail_at_web80403.mail.yahoo.com>

Here are some recent Fireball Reports:

------------- Forward Message ---------------

Subject: meteorobs-digest V4 #1096
Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 11:16:05 -0500 (EST)

meteorobs-digest Thursday, February 20 2003
Volume 04 : Number 1096

(meteorobs) Not really...
(meteorobs) Recent Observations: January 2003
(meteorobs) Illinois fireball?
(meteorobs) Re: Possible outburst March 1 2003
(meteorobs) 2 Fireballs over the Netherlands on Feb 19

---------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 16:09:11 -0800 (PST)
From: Robert Verish <bolidechaser_at_yahoo.com>
Subject: (meteorobs) Not really...

Re: Meteor Trackers Called in to Predict Trajectory of
Columbia Debris

Actually, NASA did not confirm this...

"NASA spokesman John Ira Petty at the Johnson Space
Center could not confirm whether NASA or the Columbia
Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) was seeking the
help of any meteor experts in California."

The premise of this Space.Com article rests entirely
on the word of a "former" shuttle engineer from
California. I doubt that he would even qualify as a
"NASA official", whatever that elusive term means.
And, before my "nasa.gov" email address gets me in
trouble by being declared as a "NASA source", let me
make clear that - neither I, nor any "meteor expert"
that I know of, have been approached by NASA for help.

What I can confirm is that a "predicted" trajectory
and probable debris field has already been plotted!!
It was calculated by our own List member, Rob Matson,
on his own time, at his own expense, without any
funding from NASA. His data is published at this URL:

 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/debris-locators/files/

Before I went to Tucson earlier this month, I set up a
discussion group on YahooGroups so that members of our
meteorite-recovery team could have a "place" (other
than existing meteorite-lists) to discuss the O.T.
subject of the STS-107 disaster and how best to help
NASA locate debris. Before I returned from that
Tucson trip, Rob Matson had already calculated and
uploaded a map of a ground-track for the Columbia
STS-107 re-entry flight path. Once again, this was
accomplished before NASA published their web site.

Now the Debris-locators Group will continue its theme
of "lead by example", by supplying links to official
NASA web sites for people who wish to report debris
locations, at the following URL:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/debris-locators/links

Access to these links can be made by obtaining a Yahoo
ID name and password at this web site:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/debris-locators

With best regards,
BOb Verish
Moderator, Debris-locators

P.S. - the Johnson Space Center Debris Hotline-number
is (281) 483-3388

- ------------- Original Message --------------
[meteorite-list] Meteor Trackers Called in to Predict
Trajectory of Columbia Debris
Ron Baalke baalke_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov
Tue, 18 Feb 2003 12:37:18 -0800 (PST)

http://space.com/missionlaunches/sts107_meteor_030218.html

Meteor Trackers Called in to Predict Trajectory of
Columbia Debris
By Jim Banke
space.com
18 February 2003

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 21:37:55 -0500
From: Mark Davis <meteors_at_comcast.net>
Subject: (meteorobs) Recent Observations: January 2003

Observations received by the North American Meteor
Network for the month of January 2003 are now on our
website at http://www.namnmeteors.org/

Our thanks to all of the observers!!

Clear skies!

Mark Davis, South Carolina, USA
meteors_at_comcast.net
namn_at_atmob.org


------------------------------

Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 19:27:48 -0800
From: "Dr. Tony Phillips" <phillips_at_spacescience.com>
Subject: (meteorobs) Illinois fireball?

Hi, I received this email from a reader of
spaceweather.com, and wondered if anyone on this list
had heard reports of the fireball he mentions.
Thanks! -Tony

This email is to report a sighting of the biggest
meteor or somthing I have ever seen. Sunday evening
at about 730pm central time I was south bound on I90
at about the 34 mile marker in Illinois, when a very
bright object came streaming down from the southern
sky heading only slightly west. this thing was so big
and bright that both i and my wife were amazed. I am
sure that some of it must have made it's way to the
ground.
There were 2 planes in the area who also must have
seen it as it was too big to miss. I would appreciate
any info you may have on this sighting.
                    Thanks for your attention
                      Wayne


Dr. Tony Phillips, editor
Science_at_NASA http://science.nasa.gov
SpaceWeather.com http://spaceweather.com


------------------------------

Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 14:10:19 +0200
From: "Lyytinen Esko" <Esko.Lyytinen_at_MINEDU.FI>
Subject: RE: (meteorobs) Possible outburst March 1
2003

I think that in principle m-scatter is very suitable
for recording this.
You only have to be where the radiant is (well) above
horizon, preferably quite high. Although I have not
figured out the exact limits, South America is
suitable, the more southern (and western), the better.
Could be also recorded from New Zeland and
South-Eastern Australia and from South Africa (these
with relatively low radiant). Of course Antarctic
would be fine, if there were an observer and a
suitable
transmitter could be found.
[For visual observations at the best places (for this)
in the Antarctic, the radiant is quite high, but the
Sun only about 11 deg below horiozon which is not bad
either for the expected non-dim meteors. I far as I
know, there is near the best location (in Antarctic)
at least oneRussian base, but hardly any interested
observer(?)]

Esko

>>>

what about radio echoes ? there is any chance ? where
to fight ?

regards,

John ON4EU

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 17:17:23 +0100
From: <leoniden_at_hetnet.nl>
Subject: (meteorobs) 2 Fireballs over the Netherlands
on February 19

Two fireballs have been observed over the Netherlands
on February 19.
The first at 18:13 UT and the second at 20:53 UT.

Both have been observed by experienced observers (Koen
Miskotte, George Comello, Harry Rutten) and magnitude
estimates for both range from -5 to -7.

So far I haven't been able to dig up any observations
from the UK, Germany or Belgium.

Daniel van Os
http://www.meteoren.net


------------------------------

End of meteorobs-digest V4 #1096
********************************




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Received on Thu 20 Feb 2003 04:56:19 PM PST