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(meteorobs) FWD: November "Fireball" in Northwest U.S.

[Forwarded just in case for Mark Davis <MeteorObs@Charlestondot net>:]

As a follow-up on an earlier thread, today I received the following from an
observer in Burlington, Washington:

<begin quote>
I had an excellent view of the multiple fireballs that attracted much
attention
in the Pacific Northwest in November 1997.  I was driving north on Chuckanut
Drive between Burlington and Bow, Washington when I noticed a string of bright
lights crossing the sky.  They appeared to be coming from the Anacortes area
and I thought they must be US Navy planes, which are stationed nearby on
Whidbey Island.  To my shock, however, there were huge flares of burning gas
coming off of the objects, and I quickly wondered if they were an aircraft
breaking up, or a squadron of some experimental craft that burned fuel very
visibly.

I pulled off the road and got out of my car, astonished at the amazing
sight of
dozens of flaming objects slowly crossing the dark night sky, apparently just
north of me between Chuckanut Mountain and Bellingham, Washington.

The motion of the objects was smooth and slow and more suborbital than
crashing, and I ruled out an aircraft disaster.  There were two strings of
objects of varying sizes.  The higher string had perhaps 20 burning masses,
and
the lower string had about 10. Unlike meteors and meteoric fireballs I have
seen in the past, these objects did not cross the arc of the sky in a downward
motion or in a few quick seconds.  Instead, they slowly and smoothly crossed
the sky like a boat on water.  As these passed nearly overhead I could see
that
they were burning up, and as I watched there were fewer and fewer objects, and
those that remained grew smaller.  After about two minutes the dozen or so
remaining ones appeared to disappear over the North Cascades.  

I have no doubt that this was in fact the debris from a rocket, as
suggested by
NASA, although NASA incorrectly reported that the debris fell in the Pacific
Ocean.  At least the two large clusters that passed over me were heading east
and away from the Pacific.  

This observation was the most impressive celestial display I have ever seen.

<end quote>

....................
Mark Davis
NAMN Coordinator