Possible Meteorite Crashes In Washington
- No Immediate Reports Of Damage In Area South Of
Olympia
Jun 3, 2004 6:22 am US/Central
A possible meteorite may have crashed into Earth about 30 miles south
of Olympia, an astronomy professor said.
There were no immediate reports of damage.
Bright flashes and sharp booms were reported in the skies over the
Puget Sound area early Wednesday.
Bradley
Hammermaster, who teaches at the University of Washington, estimated
that the object was about the size of a small car. He described it as a
piece of a larger meteor.
Hammermaster told KIRO Radio shortly
after 3 a.m. that a team was being assembled to head for the area where
the object was believed to have hit near the tiny southwestern
Washington community of Chehalis.
Witnesses along a 60-mile
swath of Puget Sound said the sky lit up brightly shortly before 3 a.m.
Many also reported booming sounds as if from one or more explosions.
At Whidbey Island, Petty Officer Andrew Davis said he and other saw the
skyburst.
"It made a pretty big bang," Davis said. "We thought it could maybe be
a meteorite or something."
Officials
at the National Weather Service ruled out any possible weather-related
causes, and duty officers at the Federal Aviation Administration and
the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station told The Associated Press they
knew of no civilian or military airplane problems.
© 2004 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or
redistributed.
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