[meteorite-list] Space Junk Lights Up Skies Over Australia

From: Jeff Kuyken <jeff_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Fri Aug 27 04:56:49 2004
Message-ID: <002d01c48c13$d0f5bf50$11348690_at_mandin4f89ypwu>

G'day List,

I read this story and the following line struck me as odd.

"calls reporting an extremely bright light and two explosions..."

I would not have thought that space junk would explode. Is this a correct
assumption? Hopefully one of our knowledgeable list members can add
something to this.

Cheers,

Jeff Kuyken
I.M.C.A. #3085
www.meteorites.com.au

  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Ron Baalke
  To: Meteorite Mailing List
  Sent: Friday, August 27, 2004 3:00 AM
  Subject: [meteorite-list] Space Junk Lights Up Skies Over Australia





http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/08/26/1093456733056.html?oneclick=tru
e

  Space junk lights up skies
  The Age (Australia)
  August 26, 2004

  It may have caused a stir on earth, but a bright light over
  south-western NSW last night was not a meteor, an astronomer said today.

  Police stations from Mount Druitt to Goulburn received dozens of phone
  calls reporting an extremely bright light and two explosions about
  11.30pm (AEST) yesterday.

  Goulburn police sergeant Joe Fitzpatrick was on patrol in his police car
  when he saw an intense light in the sky to the north-west.

  "It was a bluey-green colour ... certainly bright enough to attract the
  attention of all those around me," Sgt Fitzpatrick said.

  The moving light brightened for several seconds and then burned out, he
  said.

  "When I first saw it I thought it was a firework or a flare. I'd compare
  it to the PolAir helicopter turning its light on," he said.

  The light was most likely caused by nothing more than space junk burning
  up, said astronomer Vince Ford, from Canberra's Mount Stromlo Observatory.

  "Sounds like a bit of space junk, a piece of old rocket casing or a fuel
  cell," Mr Ford said.

  "My best guess: a small bit of aluminium rocket casing, causing an
  extremely bright blue-green light as it burned (out)."

  He said the metal was unlikely to have made a sound entering the
  atmosphere 30km above Earth.

  With tens of thousands of pieces of discarded shuttle materials
  congesting earth's atmosphere such sightings were becoming more
  frequent, Mr Ford said.

  "What many people believe to be shooting stars are actually stray nuts
  and bolts burning up on re-entry," he said.

  Although up to 10 meteors were visible in an hour in a dark sky,
  spotting a piece of space junk as large as last night's sighting was
  still reasonably rare, he said.


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Received on Fri 27 Aug 2004 04:56:58 AM PDT