It looks like we're on track to have one meteorite per month:
Oct. Sudan (2008 TC3)
Nov. Buzzard Coulee
Dec. Tamdakht
Jan. Denmark
Feb. West
Mar. Augusta, GA?
One per month is a great fall rate, and I hope they keep coming! Still, I
don't think this activity is high enough to support your theory of a debris
cloud. Notice that the 5 most recent confirmed falls have been 5 different
types: Sudan is ureilite, Buzzard Coulee is H4, Tamdakht is H5, Denmark is a
carbonaceous chondrite, and West is L6. How would your theory support such
a variety of incoming material?
My theory: more fireballs and meteorites are getting reported, but that
doesn't necessarily mean more fireballs and meteorites are occuring. I'd
like to make 4 points:
1. Each year, the Earth's population increases.
2. More people are learning about what meteorites are, thanks to mainstream
TV shows on the History Channel, etc.
3. More people are learning that meteorites are worth big $$$, thanks to
news coverage.
4. Each year, more and more people are getting connected to the internet.
Put all of this together, and you have: more people + more awareness + more
motivation + a global way to get news out. Personally, I think this
explains the higher number of fireballs and witnessed falls getting reported
each year.
I'd like to know what others think about this.
I'd also say that over the past year or two, the meteorite collecting
community has become much more focused on witnessed falls and hammers. This
means we're not letting any suspected falls get overlooked. If this Georgia
fireball had happened a few years ago, would it have gotten this much
attention on the list?
All the best-
--Noah
----- Original Message -----
From: "Meteorites USA" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, March 30, 2009 11:22 AM
Subject: [meteorite-list] Fireballs From The Sky: Bombarded
Over the past few months or so I've been tracking many fireball sightings
and suspected new falls all over the world. Recently we've had no fewer
than 4 right here in the United States. Not to mention the Denmark fall,
Tamdaught, West, Westchester, Augusta, Sacramento, and the Merced
Fireball. And the largest meteorite fall in Canadian history Buzzard
Coulee! I'm sure I'm forgetting some.
Now another big event near MD, VA area:
http://www.wtop.com/?nid=600&sid=1636442
<http://www.wtop.com/?nid=600&sid=1636442>
I asked this a week or so ago, but got very little response other than
"yeah sure".
Isn't this abnormally high meteor activity? Is our planet traveling
through a large field of asteroidal space debris right now? How can some
many fireballs and meteorite falls happen in such a short period of time
unless this were the case?
Regards,
Eric Wichman
Meteorites USA
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