[meteorite-list] Burning UK Meteor A Supersonic Concorde?

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:28:22 2004
Message-ID: <200310071839.LAA24223_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200wales/content_objectid=13487771_method=full_siteid=50082_headline=-Burning-meteor--was-supersonic-Concorde--name_page.html

Burning meteor 'was supersonic Concorde'
The Western Mail (United Kingdom)
October 7, 2003
 
IS IT a bird? Is it a plane or is it even a meteor?

The intense debate about what a schoolboy snapped burning up in the sky while
out skateboarding last week rages on.

But the latest in a long line of explanations comes from aircraft enthusiast Mike
Stradling, who claims 15-year-old Jonathan Burnett actually took a picture of
supersonic Concorde and not a galactic space rock.

Mr Stradling, from Brackla, near Bridgend, said Concorde regularly flew over
South Wales on its flight path to and from the United States. He said the flames
and long smoke trail were from the jet's engines hitting full power.

His opinion is one of many offered to Jonathan, who contacted an astronomer at
Nasa for an explanation following his remarkable shot.

However, there have been some wacky definitions too including those from
people who've e-mailed the teenager saying the bright orange fireball was Dr
Who's Tardis or even the blazing image of Wales' red dragon.

But Mr Stradling isadamant. He said, "There's no doubt in my mind that the
picture Jonathan took was of Concorde and not of a meteor. It regularly flies
over South Wales when travelling to and from the United States.

"The orange flames in the picture would have been from Concorde's engines."

The remarkable shot has made Jonathan from Pencoed, near Bridgend, a star at
Nasa which made his photo Astronomy Picture of the Day - beating off pictures
from professional competitors from around the world.

Jonathan was taking action photographs of his skateboarding friends when they
spotted the orange ball of fire tearing across the evening sky.

The quick-thinking teenager grabbed his new digital camera to capture the
once-in-a-lifetime frame.

Then he e-mailed his picture to the Nasa space centre in Houston, Texas,
where experts said it was one of the best shots of a meteor they'd ever seen.

There has been doubt cast over the integrity of Jonathan's photograph, but
space experts are now sufficiently confident his picture is genuine. In fact, they
are so excited about what they're now describing as a "magnificent" shot that
they want to hold a conference to debate it. They want shooting star Jonathan to
be the guest of honour at the event which is likely to be held at the Space Guard
Centre, in Knighton, Powys, which analyses the threat of asteroids to earth.
Received on Tue 07 Oct 2003 02:39:01 PM PDT