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(meteorobs) Daytime Meteor Shower Seen In Illinois
I only take the Digest version of Meteorobs, so I don't
know if this has already been posted, but if not I'll
look for updates, because this is all that Ron and I
know about this "news item":
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[meteorite-list] Daytime Meteor Shower Seen In Illinois
Ron Baalke baalke@zagami.jpl.nasadot gov
Sat, 11 May 2002 21:34:25 -0700 (PDT)
http://www.sj-r.com/news/Friday/f.htm
Daytime meteor shower strikes county
No reports of damage from rare event
By JAYETTE BOLINSKI
The State Journal-Register (Springfield, Illinois)
May 10, 2002
Sangamon County authorities received more than a dozen
calls Thursday
afternoon of brilliant, firelike streaks in the
eastern sky - a daytime
meteor shower that is rare but not unheard of,
according to a local
astronomer.
"It's certainly possible to see a meteor during the
day if it's large enough
or bright enough," said Charles Schweighauser,
professor of astronomy and
physics at the University of Illinois at Springfield.
"I have seen one during the day, in the evening, years
ago. It's not
terribly common, but certainly it's not impossible."
Reports of the meteors flooded the 911 dispatcher's
office about 4:15 p.m.
The calls came primarily from residents of
Springfield's east side and
eastern Sangamon County, according to Springfield
police Sgt. Kevin Keen.
"At first they thought it was a joke until more and
more calls began coming
in," he said. "We're keeping our eye out for anything.
None have been
confirmed yet."
A spokesman for the Sangamon County Sheriff's Office
said there were no
reports of damage from the falling space dust.
Commonly referred to as shooting stars, meteors are
tiny particles that
orbit the sun and typically are no larger than a grain
of sand.
The particles are called meteoroids once they enter
the Earth's atmosphere.
They become visible, rarely for more than a few
seconds, because friction
between the particle and air molecules creates a blue
or white glow.
Jayette Bolinski can be reached at 788-1530 or
jayette.bolinski@sj-r.com.
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