[meteorite-list] Strange sighting may have been a meteorite

From: Mike Groetz <mpg444_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2008 05:17:22 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <559041.91268.qm_at_web33008.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

http://www.wsbt.com/news/local/29870199.html

Strange sighting may have been a meteorite

SOUTH BEND --- Reports of a large bright colored object in the skies over South Bend Saturday night left gazers shocked and in awe over what they saw. A member of the Michiana Astronomical Society said the object may have been a fireball.

"Wow, how cool," said Brian Hutchings who observed the reddish-orange object. "That was the first thing I thought, was man that is neat."

Sightings of this fireball in the skies Saturday night were also reported in Michigan, Ohio, and parts of Canada.

Sunday night, all eyes were on the sky at Toscana Park in Granger.

A woman dining at a restaurant left her seat to take a look at a telescope located adjacent to the fountain.

"In the center, not quite the center," she said, while trying to see planet Jupiter.

Reports of a fireball or meteorite were reported Saturday night.

Hutchings points to the location where he discovered the fireball, saying, "Right up in that area, it traveled, traveled, traveled, right up in that area near the telephone pole." He said after 15 to 25 seconds the object burned out.

The fast moving object stopped Hutchings from grabbing a camera.

"I was fixing my antenna and just happened to look up in the sky," he said.

He said images from the Peekskill Meteorite captured on video, falling from the sky in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Virginia, back in 1992 closely resembles what he saw.

Not only are meteors and fireballs in the sky occasionally, there's something in the sky every night, Michiana's Astronomy Society's Chuck Bueter said.

"If we had skies that weren't so light polluted, more people would experience the grandeur of the sky," Bueter said.

With the telescopes out, Chuck attempted to show us some of the many objects in the sky --- including Jupiter, up close.

And phenomena both man-made and natural. Objects able to be seen with the naked eye.

"The only thing you can see are clouds," Bueter said, while pointing to the sky where a Iridium Flare was masked by thick clouds.

Normally, an Iridium Flare is a very bright object. Bueter also attempted to show WSBT News the International Space Station, but conditions were not favorable.

"This is the nature of the hobby of astronomy," Bueter said. "Sometimes you get snuffed by weather, but if you stay with it, the rewards are great enough to make it worthwhile."

Canadian astronomers confirmed this fireball as a meteor.

Bueter said on a clear night, people should be able to look outside your door and see visible passes and iridium flares throughout the week of September 28th.



      
Received on Mon 29 Sep 2008 08:17:22 AM PDT