[meteorite-list] Another fracking fireball! (Canada)

From: GeoZay at aol.com <GeoZay_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 31 Mar 2009 11:50:57 EDT
Message-ID: <bc1.4c71fff5.370395e1_at_aol.com>

>>Just saw that... What's the deal with all the fireballs?<<

Reporting to last about 10 seconds signifies a meteor for sure to me. Since
no reports of Sonic Booms yet, also sounds like a garden variety earthgrazer
that was fun to watch. No report of approximate velocity, but since it
appeared during the morning hours and also getting the impression it appeared to
travel fast...a good indication that it wasn't of asteroidal origin and thus
cometary debris. Material that's not likely to produce surviving meteorites.
During my years of recording meteor data, It was a rare night to not see at
least one fireball. Still don't get the sense that there is anything out of the
ordinary going on. I've read somewhere (Perhaps Norton's "Rocks From Space"),
it's estimated that there will be about 24,000 meteorite dropping
fireballs/year worldwide in the 4 oz to 20 lb range. So I'm not surprised that several
areas around the globe report bright meteors lately. What I'm more surprised
about is that there aren't more reports. :O)
GeoZay

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Received on Tue 31 Mar 2009 11:50:57 AM PDT