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(meteorobs) Re: Fireballs o' Doom



At 12:22 AM 2/18/98 -0500, you wrote:
Victor Noto wrote:
>Dr Revelle seems to be saying we are overdue for impacts.
>Dr Revelle seems to be saying we are having an unusual number
>of large bolides from unusual angles.  He seems to be saying
>that these kinds of events usually preceed larger impacts of
>the extinction size.  How do you interpret his remarks.

But wait a sec, Victor... What your quote says is that we're (supposedly) 3
million years SHY of an impact. (Or maybe 13 million, depending on how you
interpret the quote.) Also, Dr. Revelle (who I don't know by the way, but
others on the list seem to) doesn't give any indication WHY he suspects
fireball, bolide, and/or meteorite fall rates have increased. Is he just
saying this based on the fact that two meteorite falls (Greenland and El
Paso) were reported recently? (I wasn't aware of a meteorite fall from the
Wisconsin fireball - was there one?)

By the way, I couldn't find anyplace in the articles you posted where any
scientists speculated that "these kinds of events usually precede larger
impacts of the extinction size"... For one thing, how in the world would we
know that? Fireball reports from the dinosaurs??

Sorry if my messages may have come out a little harsh, Victor. No offense:
it just seems there's already plenty of hype on this particular topic.
Forums like 'meteorobs' are rare in that we can all sit back quietly and
try to separate the hype from whatever might actually be going on! :)

Clear skies, and keep up the posts!
Lew