[meteorite-list] Great Balls of Fire Over Spain

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:31:58 2004
Message-ID: <200401050608.WAA15395_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/01/05/1073263184092.html

Great balls of fire over Spain
The Age (Australia)
January 5, 2004

Hundreds of Spaniards reported seeing balls of fire or incandescent objects
fall from the sky today, emergency centres said.

Some of the objects were believed to have sparked fires. The phenomenon was
reported on a stretch reaching from Galicia in the north-west to the Balearic
Islands in the east.

The National Meteorological Institute said it had not observed anything
unusual. Aviation authorities said they had no knowledge of any plane crash.

Astronomers at the University of Santiago de Compostela said they suspected a
meteorite. No injuries were reported.

In northern Leon province, residents reported seeing a ball of fire light up
the sky and explode in a mountainous area, igniting a fire and shaking house
windows.

A similar explosion was heard near Palencia in the north.

Firefighters extinguished a blaze behind a roadside discotheque in the Castellon
area.

Rescuers searched for wreckage of airplanes or unusual rocks in several places,
but found no clues.

The National Meterological Institute said that its radars and satellite images
showed nothing abnormal.

Astronomer Jose Angel Docobo said he suspected a meteorite weighing from 50 to
100 tonnes, which would have disintegrated on entering the atmosphere.

He said the flying objects could also be parts of a rocket or satellite, but
deemed that less likely.
Received on Mon 05 Jan 2004 01:08:38 AM PST