The fact remains that observations of smoke columns, detonations and falling rocks
were reported from both El Nakhla AND Denshal.
Ron and List,
Aren't "smoke columns" seen for hundreds of miles from most every direction? I suppose if the trajectory of the fall was such that you were right at the impact site and thus it would be as if you were looking down the barrel of a shotgun, you might not see anything but the fireball coming at you getting bigger (but not looking like it was moving) with a single "smoke spot" (not appearing like a column) left afterwards.
I remember old field records (Nininger, Monnig, etc.) showing that the sonic booms often stop just before you get to the impact spot (or retardation point) seldom going past the fall spot, but often going back many tens of miles (sometimes 50+ miles) in the direction it came from.
I would say that the better view of a "smoke column" one would have, the further away from the fireball and strewnfield one would be, within reason (maybe within 100 miles).
I often have to tell people who swear they saw the "meter land just over that thar barn, in the corn field, probably 100 feet out" that if they were indeed that close to the fall site, the meteor would have burned out almost straight above them. Instead, if the fireball disappeard over the horizon (or at least the top of the barn) then it could have gone 500 more miles before burning out and falling.
Maybe someone could ask the witness at Denshal at what point he saw the "smoke column" in the sky stop?
Steve Arnold
www.meteoritebroker.com
