[meteorite-list] Rocket Lights Up Wyoming Sky

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Fri, 5 Jan 2007 12:04:06 -0800 (PST)
Message-ID: <200701052004.MAA08494_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.jacksonholestartrib.com/articles/2007/01/05/news/wyoming/2082d1f4f95547518725725a0008e483.txt

Rocket lights up Wyo sky
Jackson Hole Star Tribune
January 5, 2007

The fiery remains of a Russian rocket re-entering the atmosphere lit up
the early morning sky in Wyoming Thursday, but the only on-the-ground
remnant of the spacecraft reported so far may be a 3- by 3-foot burned
spot near snowy South Pass.

According to the North American Aerospace Defense Command, the bottom
portion of an SL-4 rocket re-entered the atmosphere over Colorado and
Wyoming just after 6 a.m., creating a spectacle observed by people from
at least northern Colorado to northern Wyoming.

Cody Beers, a spokesman for the Wyoming Department of Transportation,
said the WYDOT Webcam on State Highway 28 at the Louis Lake turnoff near
South Pass captured the image of an orange ball coming down in the area.
That early report of possible wreckage on the ground sent locals and
news organizations scrambling.

Sgt. Stephen Townsend of the Wyoming Highway Patrol said a trooper found
the small area burned in the snow about 35 feet from the edge of the
highway, but found no object. The highway was closed at the time because
of wintry weather.

The trooper didn't see any other falling or fallen objects because of
poor visibility from snow and blowing snow, Townsend said.

NORAD spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Sean Kelly said the portion of the rocket that
re-entered the atmosphere most likely burned up before reaching the
ground, and any debris that may have hit the ground was not believed to
be hazardous.

At the same time, a NORAD press release noted that the military
encourages people who believe that they may know the location of a piece
from the rocket to exercise caution and inform their local authorities
immediately for potential recovery operations.

The rocket's re-entry left an impression on those who saw it.

Riverton police Capt. Mark Stone said he saw a "pretty spectacular"
burning object while he was retrieving his newspaper.

"My first concern is that we had some sort of aircraft that was coming
down. It was definitely leaving a burning debris trail behind it," he said.

He said he could tell it was fairly large object, but it was too high to
make out exactly what it was.

Carl Columbus, an employee with the Wyoming Department of
Transportation, was plowing roads southeast of Riverton when he saw the
bright white light.

"It was a huge, bright white light, with a long orange tail, just like
something you'd see in the movies," he said.

Jessica Guthrie, who lives just outside Riverton city limits, saw the
fireball from her back steps and became worried. She went into her house
to check the TV news "to see if we were on high alert, or it was a
missile or something."

In an e-mail to the Casper Star-Tribune, Steve Hanna of Buffalo said he
saw what he thought was a meteorite streaking across the sky at 6:10
a.m. low on the southern horizon.

"The ball of fire was as bright as the full moon and lasted 4-5
seconds," he wrote. "The tail was almost as bright as the fireball and
was at least 10 times as long as it was wide."

Jim Siefken of Fort Collins, Colo., said he thought his eyes were
playing tricks on him when he first saw the streaking lights.

"But after another glance it amazed me, the brilliance and magnitude of
this event," he said.

Kelly said U.S. spacewatchers knew the spent SL-4 rocket was coming
down. "Objects falling from space are almost an everyday occurrence," he
said.

Jim Nations, a WYDOT spokesman and former NASA employee, said the rocket
launched a European Union satellite Dec. 27 -- an astronomical survey
satellite that will study the makeup of stars in the Orion and Milky Way
areas of the sky, as well as search for planets around those stars.
Nations said the launch was from Baikonur, Kazakhstan.

Kelly said there was no known connection between the rocket and an
object that fell from space Tuesday over New Jersey.
Received on Fri 05 Jan 2007 03:04:06 PM PST