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

(meteorobs) Meteor Fall July 30 - Blue flash in Ohio sky still a mystery



-----------------------------------------------------
FWD from [meteorite-list] Meteor Fall July 30 
almitt <almitt@kconline.com> 
Thu, 01 Aug 2002 13:03:09 -0700 

Hi all,

I haven't checked the meteor observer pages yet but I
witnessed an impressive meteor fall on July 30th of
2002. As I was driving home and on an north/south road
heading south I saw behind clouds an explosion of a
sort, lighting up the night time sky (and ground).
Figuring this to be a simple lighting in the sky,
didn't get too excited until a few seconds after, saw
a vapor trail go through the clouds and the trail
lingered for a few seconds afterward. Knowing what
this was I slowed down and listen for any noise
associated with the fall for a couple of minutes but
never did hear any sound (probably too far away).

The fall was also witnessed by a co-worker who saw the
same as I did but didn't notice the vapor trail but he
was 20 to 25 miles to my west also on a north/south
road heading south. The time of the fall was at aprox.
12:28AM [Indiana time; 01:28AM Ohio time] (05:28 GMT).
From my location some 4 miles south of Warsaw, IN. 

The meteor fall seemed to be at about 45 degrees up
(half way between horizon and meridian) and at a
southeasterly direction, heading on an apparent south
to north direction perhaps even a bit northeasterly
direction but more north. Since there clouds I was
unable to plot any path along constellation lines but
could probably with a bit of accuracy show about the
location of the trail.

I am sure that this had to deliver a meteorite or
meteorites to the ground from the shear size of the
explosion and vapor trail. If the clouds were 30 to 40
thousand feet and this was visible something had to
make its way in dark flight to the ground. I haven't
heard any news about this yet but wondering if others
on the list had received any posts or heard of anyone
in eastern Indiana or western Ohio having something
come down. 

This is the second most impressive fall I have ever
witnessed and I am sure there is meteoritic material
resting on the ground somewhere a hundred miles away. 

All my best and hope to hear more from others.

--AL Mitterling <almitt@kconline.com> 

-----------------------------------------------------

FWD from [meteorite-list] Blue flash in Ohio sky still
a mystery 
Robert Verish bolidechaser@yahoo.com 
Thu, 1 Aug 2002 16:11:33 -0700 (PDT) 

Hey Al,

I doubt that there is a connection but I've noticed,
particularly at this time of year, as we get closer to
the Perseid meteor shower, we get many reports of
fireballs. 
Here are some reports from the Cincinnati area.

It's too bad that there weren't any reports of a
"sonic boom"!  :-(

Bob V.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Bolide_Chasers

----------------------------------------------------
http://www.cincypost.com/2002/jul/31/flash073102.html

Blue flash in sky a mystery 
By Craig Garretson
The Cincinnati Post
July 31, 2002

Was it a meteor, a flash of lightning or something not
quite of this world that streaked across the skies of
Greater Cincinnati at about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday?

The National Weather Service received "a good number"
of phone calls around that time from people around the
tri-state, reporting the unusual phenomenon.

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base outside of Dayton also
received calls about "blue lights in the sky," said
spokesperson Andrea Attaway-Young, but they couldn't
be seen from the base.

National Weather Service meteorologist Greg Tipton
said callers described it as a "blue streak moving
across the sky."

Some said it was a "blue-white explosion" but not
accompanied by any sound. Others said it had a tail,
like a comet, Tipton said. Another described it as "a
bolt of blue lightning arcing above the clouds."

Area amateur astronomers who didn't see the meteor
didn't want to speculate on what it could have been,
but the American Meteor Society's Web site says
meteors are frequently reported as being blue-white in
color, are often described as "explosions" and
sometimes have a tail - technically, a "train," a
glowing trail of superheated oxygen.

Thousands of meteors streak across the sky every day,
but most aren't seen either because they happen during
the day or over an uninhabited area, such as the
ocean. Last year, there were over 200 sightings of
so-called
"fireballs" that were big enough to be seen with the
naked eye, the society's Web site said.
__________________________________________________



__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Health - Feel better, live better
http://health.yahoo.com
The archive and Web site for our list is at http://www.meteorobs.org
To stop getting all email from the 'meteorobs' lists, use our Webform:
http://www.meteorobs.org/subscribe.html