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(meteorobs) Re: "NASA Plane Probes Yukon Skies for Meteor Particles"
Was this effort carried out by or is it in concert with Mike Zolensky's on-
going project at JSC to use U-2 airplanes to gather meteoroid dust after
fireballs? The two projects seem to have very similar goals and approaches!
Clear skies,
Lew Gramer
Philipp Schmid forwarded the following article on 23 Jan 2000:
> NASA Plane Probes Yukon Skies for Meteor Particles
>
> NASA dispatched an aircraft to the Yukon Territory on a one-day trip to
> collect atmospheric samples from a meteor that exploded earlier in the week
> over the remotely populated stretch of northwestern Canada.
>
> The Airborne Sciences ER-2 made the round-trip flight on Friday from Dryden
> Flight Research Center in the Mojave Desert to the remote region of Canada,
> where it combed the skies for traces of the massive meteor that exploded on
> the morning of Jan. 18.
>
> The meteor detonated at an altitude of 16 miles (25 kilometers) with the
> energy of two to three kilotons of TNT, rattling houses, knocking snow off
> roofs and shaking seismic monitoring stations in the region. The explosion
> produced twin sonic booms and a sizzling sound over Alaska and northwestern
> Canada, according to a NASA release.
>
> The meteor vaporized the atmosphere as it streaked across the sky, flashing
> green and leaving behind a glowing vapor trail and foul odor.
>
> The airplane collected samples of the meteors debris cloud and vapor trail at
> an altitude of 65,000 feet (19.5 kilometers) with an instrument called the
> Aerosol Particulate Sampler. The device consists of two small paddles, coated
> in sticky silicone oil, that trap particles in the stratosphere when exposes
> to the airstream from their perch on the ER-2s left wingtip.
>
> The paddles were then drawn inside and sealed hermetically. NASA will now ship
> them to Johnson Space Center for analysis.
>
> Scientists are eager to study the samples in order to learn more about the
> meteors origin and composition.
>
> The plane, one of two such high-altitude research planes based at Dryden, also
> carried a black-and-white camera to probe the area for direct signs of any
> impact by meteorites associated with the explosion. Ideally, scientists could
> easily pick out any flattened areas of forest or craters in the area in the
> photographs.
>
>
>
> http://www.space.com/science/planetearth/nasa_yukon_000121.html
>
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