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(meteorobs) FWD:Fantastic Fireball - 7PM EST Nov.16th

< In a message dated 11/16/99 10:34:29 PM US Eastern Standard Time,
< NthWhovian writes:

<< I agree that the radio report I heard was inaccurate to tie this to
the beginning of the Leonids.   >>

<Many of us have now posted about this being a marvelous sporadic, and
<there have been several speculations about space debris.
<This was so amazing
<I think we are almost reluctant to believe it was a true meteor.
<Leonid or not, it was almost unbelievable!

In a message dated 11/16/99 11:04:00 PM US Pacific Standard Time,
bolide*chaser writes:

You're absolutely right!  It wasn't a "true meteor".
It IS "unbelievable" that this came from any comet, let alone
Swift-Tuttle.
But it IS a typical light show that is "par for the course" when a large

enough fragment comes from an ASTEROID.

It has yet to be shown conclusively that a falling FRAGMENT from a comet

has ever produced a sonic boom.

Now that you've seen a real "fireball",  you have to agree with me that
there is a true need for ANOTHER word to describe this beast.  A word,
maybe ... like .... say..... BOLIDE!!

As far as it being manmade debris...
1)  although the west-to-east travel is supportive evidence, it is far
from being conclusive.
2)  all the fireballs that I have witnessed that traveled from
east-to-west had just as many colors as did those that traveled
west-to-east.  A colorful fireball is not supportive evidence for it
being re-entering debris.
3)  as long as the number of witnessed "falls" per year of astroidal
debris (meteorites) outnumbers witnessed "falls" of orbital debris, I
wouldn't count on it!

Here is what NASA said (BEFORE they reworded their statement) at
http://www.leonidslive.com/:

BEGIN QUOTE

"Fireball lights up the sky over the midwest!: Reports of a large
fireball were received shortly after 7 pm EST on Tuesday night from
states including KY, PA, IN, OH, MI, WI and MO. The trajectory was
similar
in appearance to an aircraft, flying low and level across the horizon.
It is
likely that this is a Leonids "Earth-grazer" travelling nearly parallel
to the
Earth's surface through the atmosphere and possibly a taste of things to

come.  The Leonids meteor shower is expected to peak late Wednesday
night into
Thursday morning. Stay tuned!"

END QUOTE

Allow for me to apologize for the above mis-statement by NASA's
"cometary" experts for their initial knee-jerk identification of this
(now confirmed in Carlisle, PA) "bolide" as "likely being a Leonid
Earth-grazer" :-(

Brace yourself for more continuing noise, as the media tries to relate
this
event to comets and the Leonids.

Excuse me, but I have a
bolide to chase......


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