[meteorite-list] Possible Meteorite Fall Reported in Washington

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Jun 3 12:43:52 2004
Message-ID: <200406031643.JAA04792_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.chicagotribune.com/technology/sns-ap-meteorite-washington,1,415612.story

Possible Meteorite Reported in Washington
By Associated Press
June 3,2004

SEATTLE -- Bright flashes and sharp booms were
reported in the skies over the Puget Sound area early
Thursday, and experts said a meteor or falling "space
junk" may have been the source.

Nothing unusual was detected on National Weather
Service radar, and authorities also ruled out aircraft
problems or military flight tests.

Toby Smith, a University of Washington astronomy
lecturer who specializes in meteorites, said scientists
were looking into the cause of the skybursts reported
over a wide area about 2:40 a.m.

Witnesses along a 60-mile swath of the sound from
near Tacoma to Whidbey Island and as far away as Coeur
d'Alene, Idaho, 260 miles to the east, said the sky lit up
brilliantly. Many reported booming sounds as if from one
or more explosions.

"It made a pretty big bang," Petty Officer Andrew Davis
said from Whidbey Island Naval Air Station. "We thought it
could maybe be a meteorite or something."

Ralph Gaume of the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington,
D.C., said it could have been a meteor, but another
possibility would be "space junk" such as spent rocket
engines or satellites falling from Earth orbit.

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

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/06/03/tech/main620845.shtml

Northwest Sky Show A Meteorite?
CBS/AP
June 3, 2004

SEATTLE - Bright flashes and sharp booms were
reported in the skies over the Puget Sound area
early Thursday, and aviation officials said a
meteorite may have been the source.

An earlier report on CBS Radio affiliate
KIRO-AM that a meteorite might have hit near
Chehalis, about 30 miles south of Olympia,
turned out to be false, a University of
Washington scientist who specializes in
meteorites said.

Toby Smith, a lecturer in astronomy, said
scientists were looking into the cause of the
skybursts reported over a wide area about 2:40
a.m.

Witnesses along a 60-mile swath of the sound
from near Tacoma to Whidbey Island and as far
as 100 miles to the east near Ellensburg said
the sky lit up brightly, and many also reported
booming sounds as if from one or more explosions.

Reactions to what it might have been varied widely.

A man from northwest Montana described it "like a
transformer blowin' up."

"I heard the rumble, and then I felt the whole
house shake, and I thought, 'Oh, an earthquake,
huh?'" said a caller from the Seattle area.

A trucker in British Columbia, 550 miles north of
Seattle, said he saw "a flash of light. It just
lit up the mountain ridges, and the first thing I
thought of was al Qaeda."

"I saw this flash of light, and then I heard a
pop-pop-pop and then the house kind of creaked - it
was bizarre. It was kind of scary," said another
Seattle-area woman calling the radio station.

Officials at the National Weather Service ruled out
any weather-related causes, and duty officers at the
Federal Aviation Administration and the Whidbey Island
Naval Air Station told The Associated Press they knew
of no civilian or military airplane problems.

Civilian pilots reported seeing the flash from
Ellensburg, east of the Cascade Range, said an FAA
duty officer who did not give her name.

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

http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=20ecffd6-9543-4c85-8fe0-1349857e1a24

Night skies lit up by likely meteorite
The Vancouver Sun
June 3, 2004

SEATTLE - The skies lit up early Thursday over southwestern B.C.
and northwest Washington.

A streaking meteor is believed to be responsible for bright
flashes and loud booms in Puget Sound and B.C.'s Lower Mainland.

The event just before 3 a.m. PDT also lit up radio station
switchboards with callers reporting the sky bursts.

Scientists are looking into the cause of the atmospheric event,
but experts at the University of Washington say a chunk of rock
from outer space may have been the source.

No military or civilian aircraft were reported in trouble.

An earlier report that a meteorite had hit ground in Washington
has since been retracted.

In the Vancouver area, a Delta woman told a radio station the sky
was unbelievable and beautiful -- like a big bolt of lightning
or a transformer blowing.

Calls were also received from Victoria, White Rock, North
Vancouver and parts of the Fraser Valley.
Received on Thu 03 Jun 2004 12:43:28 PM PDT