(meteorobs) Double sonic boom heard?

[josephasmus at cox.net]

Interesting.. very interesting... what's up with these 'mysterious booms' being experienced recently around Suothern California.  On April 4, 2006 at  8:45am we here in San Diego had a mysterious sonic boom, or 'airquake' as some folks are calling it, similar to what Brian describes below.  It was recorded by the US Geological Survey (on 2 dozen seismo graphs) but it was determined NOT TO BE an earthquake.  

I sure felt it and heard it...  Working on the 4th (top) floor of a large office bldg here in SD, at 8:45 it came... it gradually built up for the first 1.0 to 1.5 seconds, then for the next 2-3 seconds everything in the entire building rattled and shook.  I (and my colleagues) immediately thought it to be a typical, albeit mild, magnitude 3 or 4 earthquake but as we monitored the US Geological Survey website "Did You Feel It?", nothing was posted.  

Law enforcement agencies were being flooded by calls.  It was felt throughout all SoCal.  Folks are still investigating it... and it has been dubbed 'The Mysterious Boom in San Diego'.  

Authorities have said a meteor probably wasn't the cause because it would have been noticed by the scientific community. The American Meteor Society reported no fireball sightings over Southern California on that day. 

USGC is still stating the April 4th event was not an earthquake... so we are all left wondering... then a news story was published on April 27, 2006 in the San Diego Union-Tribune stating that Scripps Institue scientists traced the boom (with alleged 99% accuracy) to an offshore area dubbed by the US Military as 'Warning Area 291' (a restricted swath of ocean of the California coast).  Ah, the US military... again up to its secretive tricks.  Of course, spokesmen from all military branches released quick statements saying more or less "The boom was not a result of any of OUR activity".  (I will refrain here from any inappropriate politcal commentary). 

What's going on?  This has got some folks a little worried.  The graphic insert at the link below gives the best graphical account of the 'Mysterious San Diego Boom'

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20060427/news_1n27boom.html#



Here are a few more links relsating to the story.

http://www.fox6.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=EAFBE273-DEC2-4B14-943F-DB21FE9293DB&rss=local
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20060423/news_1n23bigboom.html

To bad it was not a bolide for if it had been, it woulda been a hell of a daytime fireball!

Joseph 
San Diego, CA



---- Skywise <skywise at dslextreme.com> wrote: 
> I just heard what sounded like a sonic boom. I live
> in the LA area (north Orange County) and have heard
> the shuttle a couple times when it's landed at
> Edwards. It sounded very much like that. At first
> I thought it might have been the fireworks over at
> Disneyland, but it's too late for that.
> 
> So I next thought it was a bolide. I looked outside,
> but saw no leftovers.
> 
> So all I have to report is a time in case anything
> shows up on any camera's.
> 
> My location is 118.0W, 33.8N.
> 
> I looked at my computer clock within 5 seconds of
> hearing the sound and it said 11:18:11pm. Checking
> against time.gov I am fast by 62 seconds, so a more
> accurate time would be just seconds after 11:17pm.
> 
> My second thought is that someone went mach 1 and
> is going to be in big trouble with their CAG when
> they land.
> 
> The only other comment I can add is it sounded like
> it came from the north. I am sitting facing west
> with north and south windows open and it was
> distinctly louder to my right, which is north.
> 
> Another person in the house heard it also.
> 
> Brian
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