[meteorite-list] Bright Lights Spotted Over Australia Was Likely A Meteor

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:31:24 2004
Message-ID: <200402181704.JAA25883_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://news.mcmedia.com.au/story.asp?TakeNo=200402183229176

Reported light was a meteorite
By Roger Oldridge
Shepparton News (Australia)
February 18, 2004

Bright lights in the sky spotted at Deniliquin early yesterday were
not unidentified flying objects, but rather a meteorite or large rock,
according to a CSIRO spokesman.

The lights, reported to range from green to blue and red, were seen
travelling at great speed across the night sky.

Parkes-based CSIRO radio telescope visitors centre manager John Smith
said the colour indicated what materials the object contained.

"The fact it had a green glow suggests that it contained something
like copper, whilst the blue and red means that it also contained
other materials," Mr Smith said.

The object was travelling in an east to west direction and was
believed to have burnt up on entering the earth's atmosphere.

"We can determine the direction it was travelling, but have no idea
where it may have landed," Mr Smith said.

"It is unlikely that it would have reached earth as there hasn't
been any reports of a smouldering rock in someone's backyard."

Mr Smith, who received sighting reports from across western NSW,
described the object as similar to a shooting star but bigger in size.

"From all the reports the object was very bright and had a tail, so
that would suggest that it was of a good size," he said.

Deniliquin police officers said they had not received any reports
of the sightings.

The last reported sighting of bright lights in the region was in
Jerilderie in September 2002.

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

http://parkes.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=news&story_id=286421

Fireball' leaves a trail of wonder
Parkes Champion-Post (Australia)
February 18, 2004

Some Parkes residents saw 'a fireball moving through the earth's atmosphere'
early yesterday morning, while others continued to snooze catching a few
more minutes sleep before their dreaded alarm sounded., Witnesses from
all parts of western NSW including Parkes, Young, Bourke, Lightening
Ridge and Oberon saw what is likely to have been a meteor enter the earth's
atmosphere at 6.05am., One eyewitness told the Champion Post he was
driving his vehicle and saw the bright fireball light up the sky as it
cruised across the horizon., 'I've never seen anything like it - it was
huge. At first I thought it was a jet coming down. The large object had a
bright trail behind it,' he said., 'I'm very lucky to have seen it.',
Parkes Radio Telescope Visitor Centre manager, John Smith, said what people
saw was probably a meteor - a lump of rock - increase in heat as it entered
the atmosphere., 'The brightness of the meteor was due to the heat in the
meteor burning up,' Mr Smith said., 'We have received various descriptions
of the event.
Received on Wed 18 Feb 2004 12:04:14 PM PST