[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]

(meteorobs) This one was "warm".



A meteorite that was recovered very soon after impact in 
Monahans, Texas, on March 22, 1998, was reported to be 
"warm" by more than one person who handled it:

 http://wwwdot caverdot net/meteor1.htm
 http://wwwdot caverdot net/meteor2.htm

This one was seen in daylight or very bright twilight, and
there was a smoke trail.  It was reported to have exploded 
apparently fairly close to the ground, in which case maybe
it might not be too surprising for a fragment to be hot or 
warm when found so quickly.  

On the other hand, the Forcier fragment of the 1994 St. 
Robert, Quebec, Canada "meteorite shower" was reported to 
be cold.  

 http://www.nrcan.gcdot ca/gsc/meteor_e.html

(I remember seeing in a TV news program video of those 
Quebequois [sp?] cows in the field and the voice-over 
that they helped locate the meteorite.  By the way, this
was the first time I remember seeing that term "meteorite 
shower" and wonder if it's what the SpaceCom guy was 
intending to say, however incorrectly, when he was asked 
about the October 13, 2000, re-entry fireballs observed 
in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas, USA.)  

So maybe at least with large ones that explode, if the 
explosion is close enough to the ground that they impact 
within seconds (plus it's not as cold as miles above the 
ground!), the fragments can be warm or hot when they hit?

On October 9, 1997, a bolide was detected by US satellites
and observed as a daylight fireball by quite a few people
in the general vicinity of El Paso, Texas, SW New Mexico
(and presumably Juarez, Mexico), along with a long-lasting
smoke trail and sonic booms.  There were reports at the 
time of a fire or at least a burned or scorched area near 
El Paso, but I'm not sure if it was ever verified as 
really being related to a meteorite fall from the bolide.
I don't know if any meteorite was found, either.  The 
explosion that was detected by satellites was in the 30-40 
km altitude range -- way up there.

 http://phobos.astro.uwodot ca/~pbrown/dod971.txt
 http://phobos.astro.uwodot ca/~pbrown/usaf983.txt
 http://rampages.onrampdot net/~binder/elpaso.html
 http://www.phoenixat.com/~vnn2/Elpasom.htm

Ed Cannon - ecannon@mail.utexasdot edu - Austin, Texas, USA
http://wwwvms.utexasdot edu/~ecannon/meteorlinks.html

To UNSUBSCRIBE from the 'meteorobs' email list, use the Web form at:
http://www.tiacdot net/users/lewkaren/meteorobs/subscribe.html

Follow-Ups: