[meteorite-list] Meteorite Lands In Back Yard In South Carolina?
From: harlan trammell <skyrox_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:22:36 2004 Message-ID: <BAY1-F74g1XbIv1vDfr0000c687_at_hotmail.com> <html><div style='background-color:'><DIV> <P>the "flames" unsell it for me.<BR><BR></P></DIV> <DIV></DIV>>From: Ron Baalke <BAALKE_at_ZAGAMI.JPL.NASA.GOV> <DIV></DIV>>To: meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com (Meteorite Mailing List) <DIV></DIV>>Subject: [meteorite-list] Meteorite Lands In Back Yard In South Carolina? <DIV></DIV>>Date: Tue, 10 Jun 2003 08:10:28 -0700 (PDT) <DIV></DIV>> <DIV></DIV>> <DIV></DIV>> <DIV></DIV>>http://www.beaufortgazette.com/local_news/story/2606419p-2418584c.html <DIV></DIV>> <DIV></DIV>>Meteorite lands in back yard <DIV></DIV>>By CHRIS BENDER <DIV></DIV>>The Beafort Gazette (South Carolina) <DIV></DIV>>June 10, 2003 <DIV></DIV>> <DIV></DIV>>Dianne Morris saw something out of this world while <DIV></DIV>>walking her dogs early Monday morning. <DIV></DIV>> <DIV></DIV>>A meteorite landed in the Beaufort resident's back yard at <DIV></DIV>>about 3:40 a.m. <DIV></DIV>> <DIV></DIV>>"I was only about 15 feet away from it when it came down," <DIV></DIV>>said Morris. "It had a smoky white tail." <DIV></DIV>> <DIV></DIV>>Morris said small glowing flames dropped from it as it came <DIV></DIV>>down and it made a loud popping sound before hitting the <DIV></DIV>>ground. It didn't leave a depression, and she was able to <DIV></DIV>>pick up several pieces. <DIV></DIV>> <DIV></DIV>>Morris plans on keeping the few extraterrestrial pieces. <DIV></DIV>>While reports like Morris' do come in on occasion, they <DIV></DIV>>usually aren't actual meteorites, said Christina Lacey, a <DIV></DIV>>professor at the University of South Carolina's physics and <DIV></DIV>>astronomy department. <DIV></DIV>> <DIV></DIV>>"I've never heard of (the reports) panning out," Lacey said. <DIV></DIV>>"Certainly, meteorites do hit the Earth." <DIV></DIV>> <DIV></DIV>>Nothing unusual was detected by the radar at the air station <DIV></DIV>>Monday morning, said Master Sgt. Terrance Peck, public affairs <DIV></DIV>>chief for Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort. Officials at the National <DIV></DIV>>Weather Service in Charleston said a meteorite would be moving <DIV></DIV>>too fast for them to track. <DIV></DIV>> <DIV></DIV>>What a meteorite is made of is one of the factors that determines <DIV></DIV>>whether it makes it to the Earth's surface. Lacey said meteorites <DIV></DIV>>coming from passing comets, which are composed of ice, usually burn <DIV></DIV>>up, while iron-based meteorites that come from asteroids might make <DIV></DIV>>it to the surface. <DIV></DIV>> <DIV></DIV>>Meteorites usually are made of melted minerals with some containing <DIV></DIV>>iron-nickel alloys. <DIV></DIV>> <DIV></DIV>>"Most meteorites tend to be very simple" in composition, Lacey said. <DIV></DIV>>"Most meteorites do land in water." <DIV></DIV>> <DIV></DIV>>According to the National Air and Space Administration's Web site, <DIV></DIV>>each day as many as 4 billion meteoroids, most minuscule in size, <DIV></DIV>>enter Earth's atmosphere. Most of these meteors burn up from <DIV></DIV>>atmospheric friction and never reach the ground. <DIV></DIV>> <DIV></DIV>>The angle at which the meteoroid enters the planet's atmosphere can <DIV></DIV>>also determine whether it breaks up, skips back into space or explodes. <DIV></DIV>>Lacey said rarely do man-made meteorites make it to Earth, and when <DIV></DIV>>they do it's usually over water. <DIV></DIV>> <DIV></DIV>>If someone does recover something they think is a meteorite, Lacey <DIV></DIV>>said geologists can usually tell whether it's from outer space or not. <DIV></DIV>> <DIV></DIV>>"You could talk to the geology department at Clemson, the University <DIV></DIV>>of South Carolina or the College of Charleston and they could identify <DIV></DIV>>it," Lacey said. "A lot of times they can do it just by looking at it." <DIV></DIV>> <DIV></DIV>>Morris said she doesn't plan on doing anything like that, though she <DIV></DIV>>does admit it's somewhat unbelievable. <DIV></DIV>> <DIV></DIV>>"I just wish I had a video camera at the time," she said. "Without a <DIV></DIV>>movie, it's like no one believes you." <DIV></DIV>> <DIV></DIV>>Contact Chris Bender at 986-5553 or cbender_at_beaufortgazette.com. <DIV></DIV>> <DIV></DIV>>______________________________________________ <DIV></DIV>>Meteorite-list mailing list <DIV></DIV>>Meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com <DIV></DIV>>http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list <DIV></DIV></div><br clear=all><hr>The new <a href="http://g.msn.com/8HMNENUS/2737??PS=">MSN 8:</a> smart spam protection and 2 months FREE* </html> Received on Tue 10 Jun 2003 05:06:50 PM PDT |
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