[meteorite-list] Witnesses, NORAD Think Meteorite Was Green Object Seen Over Colorado

From: Chris Peterson <clp_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2007 17:18:50 -0600
Message-ID: <013301c785fd$c6f69f60$2721500a_at_bellatrix>

NORAD was way off the mark on this one. Fortunately, the release was
based on a report from one eyewitness, not any sort of instrumentation
(or I'd be worried about our national security <g>).

Actually, the fireball was over western Colorado, and unrelated to the
Lyrids. Details are here:

http://www.cloudbait.com/science/fireball20070420.html .

Big, slow, shallow, and low- an excellent candidate for producing
meteorites, maybe 10 kg or more. Unfortunately, this is where you have
to hunt:

http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&om=1&z=10&ll=39.682883,-108.462524&spn=0.872973,0.86792&t=h

Good luck!

Chris

*****************************************
Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com


----- Original Message -----
From: "Ron Baalke" <baalke at zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>
To: "Meteorite Mailing List" <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Monday, April 23, 2007 4:43 PM
Subject: [meteorite-list] Witnesses,NORAD Think Meteorite Was Green
Object Seen Over Colorado


>
> http://www.longmontfyi.com/Local-Story.asp?id=15920
>
> Witnesses, NORAD think meteorite was green object seen over Colorado
> By Trevor Hughes
> The Daily Times-Call (Colorado)
> April 22, 2007
>
> LONGMONT - Area residents who were lucky enough to be looking at the
> sky
> late Friday night are still in awe over a greenish-red fireball they
> saw
> zoom past.
>
> The object, likely a meteorite associated with the Lyrid meteor
> shower,
> was witnessed up and down the Front Range, according to officials.
> They
> said it apparently landed somewhere near the Air Force Academy near
> Colorado Springs.
>
> "Asteroids ... because they are not in a normal orbit, we take note of
> it," said Capt. Tim Lundberg of NORAD U.S. NorthCom, the
> Colorado-based
> federal agency that tracks airborne objects. "These things are usually
> moving fast enough they impact themselves in the ground."
>
> Several Longmont-area witnesses said they thought the object looked
> like
> it landed north of Boulder or somewhere in the mountains near Estes
> Park.
>
> "I would have sworn it landed here," said Berthoud resident Janet
> Blair,
> who was looking at the sky at just the right time, about 11:08 p.m.
> "It
> was fabulous. I've never seen anything like it. It was great."
>
> And Doug Ogden of Lyons described the green object as a "classic
> meteorite" that he would have sworn landed somewhere in north Boulder.
>
> Both Ogden and Blair, among others, commented on the object's bright
> green color.
>
> In fact, Boulder firefighters were dispatched to check that area after
> a
> 911 dispatcher and several residents called to report the object. They
> found nothing after checking Lee Hill Road and Lefthand Canyon Drive.
>
> Lundberg said in cases like this, local law enforcement and fire
> officials are notified by NORAD so they can check the impact site and
> ensure there's no fire.
>
> The Lyrid shower, the oldest known meteor shower, was expected to peak
> early this morning, according to NASA.
Received on Mon 23 Apr 2007 07:18:50 PM PDT