(meteorobs) Meteor Shower over Gulf of Bothnia

[Patrik Henriksson]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Pekka Savolainen" <pekka.savolainen at dlc.fi>
To: "Global Meteor Observing Forum" <meteorobs at meteorobs.org>
Sent: Wednesday, July 14, 2004 1:58 PM
Subject: Re: (meteorobs) Meteor Shower over Gulf of Bothnia


>
> You can find a pic from;
>
> http://www.vasabladet.fi/nyheter.asp?katID=1
>
> text only in swedish...;-

I'll translate it.

"Never before have I experienced a phenomenon like this, said the chief of
the sea-rescue in Vasa

Night to tuesday red balls of light was observed over the southern part of
the Bay of Botnia

VASA

"During the night before tuesday emergency services and sea-rescue recieved
around 10 calls from people who belived they had seen emergency flares or
something like it in the waters between Jakobsstad and Karleby
Sea-rescue estimate it that it was a meteor shower and not a vessel in
distress

The reports came in to the emergency operators during approximately an hour.
Three people described the phenomenon exactly the same way and authorities
believes based on this that it was a meteor shower.

-I have worked here for nineteen years and not once have I experienced a
phenomenon like this, the chief of the Vasa sea-rescue central Peter Sundell
said to FNB.
Johanna Aarnio saw the phenomenon in the Larsmo archipelago.
-The light I saw was large and bright but not red in color. First it flew
pretty straight across the sky, then it lost a little altitude and finally
fell down in a spiralling contrail. Before it dissapeared it was as if it
had blown up; first it was bright, then fainter and seemed to have fallen
into the sea.
No sound was heard, said Aarnio who was in the archipelago with some friends

A photographic society on a summer excursion to the Valsörs also observed
the phenomenon and suceded in taking a few pictures somewhat after midnight
on the night before tuesday. According to Johan Geisor the phenomenon lasted
for a few minutes.

-First I thought it was an aeroplane but as it moved across the sky we saw
that it was something else, he says.
The pictures the party had taken was  recived with great interest by the
Ursa astronomical society. According to the societys papers' editor Marko
Pekkola the picture seems to show meteor trails in the sky, something that
according to him is a rare phenomenon in Finland.
-It is with some probablility that it is not large pieces we are talking
about in this case. In most cases meteor fragments fall down in the size
grains of sand, he says.
-More thorough mathematical calcualtions are needed to say exactly how large
the meteorite or meteorite trails where. If the meteorite is made out of
iron it kan act as a spectacular sight in the sky while it in reality is
much smaller then one would think, he says.

Marko Toivonen, who is resposible for the meteorite section at Ursa cosiders
the Bay of Botnia meteorite to be an unusually large meteor.

Since the light intesity of a meteor is directly proportinal to the size of
the ball Toivonen suspects it to have been a meteoirite with a diameter or
up to 2 meters. But more probabel is that it was more in the size of a
soccer ball.
It was not a question of spacejunk - the objects trajectory was all too
straight to have come from something out of orbit"


-----
Patrik 'Putte' Henriksson