(meteorobs) Texas Fireball or Meteor?

[David Entwistle]

In message <20040708111749.795.qmail at web14924.mail.yahoo.com>, Mark Fox
<unclefireballmtf at yahoo.com> writes
>
>One of three woman meteorologists on the Weather
>Channel brought up an interesting news tidbit of what
>appears to be a fresh sighting of a fireball in Texas 
>(I didn't catch the details.)  However, she went on to
>the effect, "but it is now said that it wasn't a
>fireball but probably a "meteor"! 
>
>Bright meteors or fireballs!
>
>Mark Fox
>Newaygo, MI
>

The following report is from the 'Dallas Morning News'. You need to
register to read it online. There are no pictures at present, but
there's an open invitation to send them a picture if you have one, so it
could be worth keeping an eye on the site.

http://www.dallasnews.com/

*** start article

Meteor blazes across N. Texas nighttime skies
 
12:35 AM CDT on Thursday, July 8, 2004
 
>From Staff Reports 

If you saw an unusual object light up the night sky Wednesday, you
weren't alone. 

Many people - some of whom thought a plane had crashed - notified
authorities and media outlets across North Texas about 9:20 p.m. 

What they saw was a meteor, said Alan Moller of the National Weather
Service in Fort Worth. 

"Although they're very small objects, they burn like mad," when they
enter the Earth's atmosphere, he said. 

Jeff Barton, a member of the Texas Astronomical Society, agreed the
object might have been a meteor or what's called a bolide, an exploding
meteor. 

"Bolides tend to be larger and move a little slower," he said. "They
will be in the sky for 10 to 15 seconds. Someone at a game can use their
video camera and capture it. ... If it was a bright, slow-moving bolide,
it could have been caught. There's been a spate of bolides recently." 

Mr. Barton said the object also might have been space junk, but he noted
that the Aquarids meteor shower is visible from mid-July to mid-August. 

Although scientists sometimes can predict when meteors will make their
entry, this one was unexpected. 

Skygazers can expect another spectacular performance later this summer. 

According to NASA, the Perseid meteor shower will start in mid-July and
peak Aug. 12. It will be more visible in the Northern Hemisphere. 

The shower occurs as Earth travels into the periphery of a cloud of
debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle. 

*** end article

There's also a confused report at NewsOK.com

http://www.newsok.com/article/1276456/?template=news/main
-- 
David Entwistle