(meteorobs) for what it's worth department

[Arlene Carol]

this just crossed my desktop. thought i'd pass it on...

clear and clean skies you all!!
arlene
south of troy, along the aegean in western turkey

[image: ABC Online] <http://abc.net.au/>

*ABC Online <http://abc.net.au/>*

*The World Today - 'UFO' sightings most likely meteors*

[This is the print version of story
http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2006/s1800293.htm]

The World Today - Wednesday, 29 November , 2006  12:46:00 Reporter: Nance
Haxton ELEANOR HALL: Over the last two days, police and news organisations
in South Australia and western Victoria have been inundated with reports of
mysterious lights in the night sky.

Some have described a fireball shooting across the horizon just before
sunset, while callers in north-west Victoria have reported seeing a bright
object flying across the sky.

The Astronomical Society of South Australia's Dr Tony Beresford has told
Nance Haxton that while the sightings have sparked some UFO speculation, the
cosmic mystery is most likely a meteor.

TONY BERESFORD: It was just one particular meteor which was widely observed.
It was observed from around the metropolitan area to, I suspect, over in the
border regions of Victoria and New South Wales.

NANCE HAXTON: And how do we know that it was a meteor?

TONY BERESFORD: Well, it was a short time, it was moving quite fast, faster
than a satellite would've and there were no satellites due to come in.

NANCE HAXTON: And are there any reports of what happened to that meteor? I
mean, does it burn up before landing or

TONY BERESFORD: This one almost certainly did. It's in fact, I have several
reports which indicated at the end it more or less exploded.

NANCE HAXTON: How common is it for meteors such as this to be seen so
brightly and be reported by people?

TONY BERESFORD: Well, about once a year or so, maybe twice.

NANCE HAXTON: So meteors are really falling from the sky all the time, it's
just sometimes we see them?

TONY BERESFORD: Some, yes. We're in a cosmic shooting gallery. There are
several moderately recent craters in the Australian continent, but the most
recent appreciable-sized one is of course the very famous meteor crater in
Arizona, only about 50,000 years ago.

NANCE HAXTON: 50,000 years ago? So hopefully our number's not coming up for
a while yet?

TONY BERESFORD: Well, you don't you never know. I'm one of these people who
think we should do proper surveys for an asteroid that could possibly impact
the earth, because we if we did find one then we could probably divert it
enough. You don't have to change its orbit very much.

The Australian Government doesn't believe in it, but the Americans are
spending money employing two people up at Siding Spring looking for it.

NANCE HAXTON: You think that the risk of an asteroid hitting earth is enough
that Australia should really look at taking more note of the risk?

TONY BERESFORD: Yes, yes they should. The risk is very small, but the
number... the possible global consequences are enormous.

ELEANOR HALL: That's the Astronomical Society of South Australia's Dr Tony
Beresford speaking to Nance Haxton.


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