[meteorite-list] Green Fireball Sighted Over Canada

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:23:45 2004
Message-ID: <200303061742.JAA20029_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.canoe.ca/NationalTicker/CANOE-wire.Green-Fireball.html

Ontario, Quebec police get calls of "green things" in sky; likely a fireball
caneo.ca (Canada)
March 5, 2003

TORONTO (CP) -- A green blaze that streaked through the skies over Central
Canada on Wednesday night, promoting curious and concerned calls to police,
was likely a fireball.

Richard Huziak, a member of the Royal Astronomical Society, said it sounded
like people were treated to a bright meteor or fireball.

"It sounds like basically some sort of major natural fireball. It's not
unusual to have fireballs," Huziak said Wednesday night.

Green is the most prominent colour of the fireballs, which are brighter than
any celestial object other than the moon and sun, according to the Meteorites
and Impacts Advisory Committee, a branch of the Canadian Space Agency.

The fireballs are often the size of a small car, Huziak said. Because of their
relatively large size, sometimes they can burn brightly enough to even
turn off streetlights as they pass, he added.

Quebec provincial police got phone calls Wednesday night describing a bright
object that flew through the sky for two to three seconds before disappearing
in a final burst of light.

Reports of seeing "several green things in the sky" are intriguing because it
might mean multiple fireballs or that the fireball fragmented. But multiple
fireballs are unlikely.

"A few reports need to come in for this event to be characterized for certain,"
he said. "Most people never see one in a whole lifetime."
Received on Thu 06 Mar 2003 12:42:51 PM PST