[meteorite-list] New Meteorite hits North West U.S.

From: LITIG8NSHARK at aol.com <LITIG8NSHARK_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2008 08:36:25 EST
Message-ID: <c07.2ca695c9.34ed86d9_at_aol.com>

Breaking news---
 
Best regards,
 
Paul Martyn
Savannah, GA
 
SPOKANE, Wash. ? An apparent meteor streaked through the sky over the
Pacific Northwest early Tuesday, drawing reports of bright lights and sonic booms
in parts of Washington, Oregon and Idaho.
Although a witness reported seeing the object strike the Earth in a remote
part of Adams County, in southeast Washington, it had not been found.

"I'm convinced it was a meteor," said Geoff Chester, spokesman for the U.S.
Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. "It was a classic description of a
fireball."

Chester speculated the meteor was the size of a big suitcase and had been
orbiting the sun for millions of years before entering Earth's orbit.

The Federal Aviation Administration said a private pilot reported seeing the
meteor hit the Earth in a burst of light near State Route 26 and the
Lind-Hatton Road about 5:45 a.m.

The Adams County sheriff's office had no immediate reports of damage, injury
or a meteor landing in the area, about 175 miles east-southeast of Seattle
and 90 miles southwest of Spokane.

Chester said people commonly think they see a meteor hit or about to hit the
ground, when it is nowhere close. Most meteorites that strike the Earth are
never found, he said
"When you see objects like this in the sky your sense of scale is
distorted," he said. "It's a common optical illusion."

A number of pilots reported seeing the meteor streaking through the sky from
Boise, Idaho, into Washington state, the FAA said.
Surveillance cameras in the region captured a ball of light in the sky and
then a flash illuminating the early morning darkness.
Television stations in Spokane reported getting viewer calls from across
Washington state and north Idaho, parts of Oregon and southeastern British
Columbia, starting about 5:30 a.m.

The callers said it resembled summer lightning, a rocket, a satellite or an
exploding transformer.
A viewer from Walla Walla, about 55 miles south-southeast of the reported
crash site, said she heard a sonic boom and felt a shock wave not long after
seeing the streaking meteor.

The East Oregonian of Pendleton, Ore., said people in that city reported
hearing a sonic boom after seeing the sky light up.
 



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Received on Wed 20 Feb 2008 08:36:25 AM PST