Apparently, I'm not the only one that finds it hard to believe that this fireball was from a meteor shower:
--------- Messages Forward without Permission --------- From: http://www.meteorobs.org Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 18:07:16 -0400 (EDT) From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Another possibly-misidentified fireball >http://www.heraldonline.com/local/story/2962813p-2716565c.html > >Bright lights in tri-county night sky were caused by >meteor showers, experts say Any time something like this happens at, or near, the maximum of a shower, the "experts" instantly identify the unknown object as a member of the shower. Often it came from the "showers." The experts include such categories as meteorologists and non-observing professional astronomers. They don't know a thing about meteor behavior, especially that most of the major showers are not visible so early in the evening. Concerning the spectacular reentry over Washington State a few years ago in November, an unknowledgable astronomer pinned this object on the Leonids despite the early evening appearance. Norman Norman W. McLeod III Staff Advisor American Meteor Society Fort Myers, Florida [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 15:45:37 -0700 From: Ed Majden <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: Another possibly-misidentified fireball - ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: Another possibly-misidentified fireball > Any time something like this happens at, or near, > the maximum of a shower, > the "experts" instantly identify the unknown > object as a member of the shower. Often it came > from the "showers." The experts include such > categories as meteorologists and non-observing > professional astronomers. > They don't know a thing about meteor behavior, > especially that most of the major showers are not > visible so early in the evening. > This happens time and time again! Some of this can be blamed on the press or reporter doing the interview. Boy, can they distort and misquote what you tell them! Ask to see the copy before they use it. The above is also true about the identification of meteorites. Some geologists and astronomers from other fields wouldn't recognise a meteorite if it hit them on the head. Often experts aren't 100% sure until the appropriate lab tests are done. Ed Majden The archive and Web site for Meteorobs list is at http://www.meteorobs.org To get email from the 'meteorobs' lists, use Webform: http://www.meteorobs.org/subscribe.html ------------------------------ __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com ______________________________________________ Meteorite-list mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
