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Posted By
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Discussion Topic: Bright Light In The Sky: What Did You See?
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T O P I C
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Discussion Started: 07-23-2001, 5:45 PM
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People have been calling and e-mailing, reporting a comet-like object in the sky. What did you see?
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View Messages: [newest first] | [oldest first]
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BrianM.
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07-24-2001, 11:22 AM
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I was traveling west on Rt 772 yesterday on my way home from work in Intercourse, Pa and had just turned right on to South Groffdale Rd. when I saw a fireball streak across the sky going southeast to northwest. It appeared to be very low in the sky and about to strike the earth. I tried to find where it hit but, no such luck. It was exactly 6:19P.M. There was no sound or trail of smoke.
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Lynda L
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07-24-2001, 10:37 AM
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My son and I were leaving Turkey Hill on Hershey Ave.I was waiting for traffic, I looked up I saw this bright ball with a tail it was very bright changing colors, then disapeared. It was what seemed very low just over the tree tops, in fact I drove up to the ball field on Hershey Ave thinking what ever it was would of fallen there... It was so cool I looked at my son and said we just saw a meteor...something you might never see again that close. We gave each other a High 5 and smiled
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drinehar
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07-24-2001, 9:44 AM
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We were in Biglerville (Adams County) at my daughter's softball game (approx. 6:15 p.). The streak came from southeast to northwest. At first I thought it was a local helicopter sprayer going down but it was white hot and had a huge tail. I thought it was a mile or so high but realize now it was many miles away. Great evening entertainment!
Deb
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kls33
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07-24-2001, 9:14 AM
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I'm from Tioga County, PA and yesterday evening I was sitting here at my computer and all of a sudden my dad said he saw this flash of light, like the lights turned on and off. I didn't see anything, I guess I was too concerned with what I was doing. Not 10 seconds after my dad said that we all heard (and felt) this BOOM! Our whole house shook and I thought we were being bombed or my house was just falling down. You could hear the rumbling echoes for about a minute after the initial boom. I was talking to my friend on the computer as this went on and he said it shook his house too. The first thing people were saying was that a plane crashed by my house. Within 5 minutes everybody from all over town were out on these back roads trying to find out where and what crashed. But no one found anything. We couldn't see smoke or fire so we realized it couldn't have been a plane crash. So people were calling our house from all over telling us what they saw or heard and pretty soon it was concluded that it was a meteorite that exploded in air. If I didn't know any better I would've assumed it exploded right over my house! The flash of light we all saw was the meteorite entering our atmosphere...and the boom was obviously a sonic boom! Thank God it didn't actually hit the ground or else I probably wouldn't be here right now! Because everyone in this town (and county) felt the trembles of this explosion! So it was more than just a streak across the sky. A friend of my dads was actually outide when it happened and he saw the streak, saw everything get all amber colored, and then was actually knocked to the ground by the sonic boom. If people are wondering where exactly it exploded over...interview some people over here in Tioga County!
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tiffmonkey
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07-24-2001, 9:02 AM
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Well, personally, I didn't see anything. But my boyfriend did and called me at work in a panic. He said that he saw a flaming ball of something falling out of the sky, appearing not more than 500 feet in front of him. It was leaving a smoke trail which died out as it fell. He said it was glowing a bright white bluish color like nothing he had ever seen before and was about the size of a basketball. This occured around 6:00 pm in the Chambersburg area.
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THickey
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07-24-2001, 6:50 AM
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Around 6:15, we were just crossing Locust Lane (near Nyes Road), between Harrisburg and Hershey, when out of the corner of my eye I glimpsed something bright enough to catch my attention and look up. After about 2 or 3 seconds I finally realized what it was, pointed, and shouted "Look! A bolide!" (As an astronomy-lover, I'm always looking to the sky and dream to see something this spectacular; that's how I knew what it was). It lasted probably another 5 seconds after that. It left a trail that was medium-sized in length, but very thick in its width. It was bright white, with splotches of red, blue, and orange-yellow. The most remarkable part was how slow it appeared to fall across the sky; the meteor seemed to move just a bit faster than a passenger jet. From my vantage point, it was to the north, heading along a north-northwest trajectory. It was so bright, I could have sworn it was large enough for some pieces to have fallen off and landed somewhere...
Tom Hickey
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hike2day
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07-24-2001, 2:16 AM
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I tag this phenomenon right up there with the egocentric visual trick that we experience when we think the moon is "following" us when we are driving down the road. I also saw the bright blue/white/orange fire ball and tail. I saw it sometime after the 6 o'clock hour in the town of Shillington, PA, Berks County. It lasted less than 10 seconds. It just seemed to burn out to nothing. I would have sworn that it landed just a few miles from me as so many others from so many diverse locations noted. Unlike others, I heard no sonic boom which is probably the strongest proof that the meteor was nowhere near my location. I've never seen anything in the daytime or night time sky that bright before. I would compare it to a the light a welder creates. I can't wait for the morning news to see any remnants that may have been found. I fear that such an awesome spectacle was created by something remarkably small. Great Show!
Gary
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Ross C
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07-24-2001, 2:12 AM
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My family and I were eating dinner on the patio (6:15) when my 7 year old jumped to his feet and said "what was that? I think it was a UFO." My wife and I turned and saw a white hot light streaking across the sky from east to west with an eliptical tail. My initial thoughts was it was a small plane that had caught fire. We waited for the sound of a crash, but no sound ever occurred.
Hanover, PA
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WGALPJOD
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07-23-2001, 10:56 PM
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My wife Debra and I were coming home from (B)"Jamboree in the Hills"(/B) outside Wheeling W. Va. and just miles from the house outside Ebenever Pa. just north of Lebanon we saw a bright streak in the sky, we both looked to each other and said..((B)"What the hell was that?"(B/) Maybe fireworks or somthing? (B)Note it was 6:28 p.m. and daylight????(B/) We sort of brushed it off until we saw the NEWS 8 brodcast at 11 p.m. It was VERY clear and bright FREAKED us out! No fire or anything near by so we just forgot about it until (B)WGAL news(b/), Thanks. Pat O'D
D.J.PatO'D.
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JudyD
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07-23-2001, 10:55 PM
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At about 6:15pm, I was eating dinner and looking out my dining room patio door which faces towards Marietta and a HUGE ball of fire went streaking across the sky!!!!
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