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(meteorobs) More on El Paso Fireball


Below is the newspaper article retrieved at the following website:
http://www.wsnbc.com/local/ktsm/9198.asp
There isn't much good info except apparent possible meteorite droppings. The
fire sounds like a coincidence and not related to the fireball to me.
George Zay
----------------------
>>Meteor blast shakes El Paso

    Authorities throughout the city are now saying the cause of the huge
blast
that occurred just before 1:00 p.m. El Paso time was a meteor.
    A chopper for the El Paso Police Department has found the impact site
which is located 27 miles east of El Paso and 20 miles north of a border
patrol
checkpoint. Police say the chopper crew is reporting that the scorched area
is
about an acre in size.
    The blast was heard throughout El Paso and surrounding areas as far as
100 miles away. Calls began flooding police lines with witnesses saying they
saw a huge bright light and then heard a massive explosion followed by a
cloud
of white smoke. There have also been unconfirmed reports that debris were
falling from the sky.
    Experts speculate the only possible cause was a meteor, as surrounding
military installations and airports report all aircraft in the region at that
time
have been accounted for.
    Authorities right now aren’t positive - but today’s incident could have
been
a meteor shower that was predicted to happen sometime between October
6-10 above the skies of El Paso.
    A quick check of Internet sites this afternoon shows the shower maybe
associated with periodic comet Giacobini-Zinner. The shower is predicted to
be very slow in movement and generally has a yellowish coloring. Predictions
of this meteor shower date back to as early as 1915 when astronomer
Reverend M. Davidson observed that periodic comets might be capable of
producing meteor showers. Davidson later calculated the distance of the
meteors from earth and actually predicted the meteors could pass near the
earth on October 9th during specific dates including 1926, 1952, 1972 and
today.
    Today’s draconid meteor shower may also explain last year’s meteor
shower caught on videotape for the nation by NewsChannel Nine
photographer Bob Thomas. That meteor shower hit October 6.<<
    
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