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Greg S. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/meteorite-likely-didnt-survive-astronomer-says-85460422.html Meteorite likely didn't survive, astronomer says By: Jenny Ford There is little chance the fireball that stunned onlookers as it crossed the sky early Thursday morning north of Winnipeg survived the impact to Earth, said Manitoba Planetarium astronomer Scott Young. After hearing reports from more than a dozen witnesses throughout Thursday, Young said the fireball, known to astronomers as a bolide, likely landed in northwestern Ontario. He said because of the rough terrain in that area, there is little chance a meteorite survived the impact. "Odds of finding anything are almost zero," he said. People reported seeing the bolide, a large shooting star or meteorite, north of Winnipeg at around 6:45 a.m Thursday. "It looked like something out of a disaster movie," said Myron Witnicki, who witnessed the fireball while he was driving down Provincial Road 202 from his home in Birds Hill to work in St. Andrews. "It streaked left to right like a huge ball in the sky," he said. Young said this type of astronomical phenomenon happens when a grain of space debris comes in contact with the atmosphere. The friction heats up the meteor, making it look like a ball of fire. He said based on reports, this bolide was probably the size of a baseball or cabbage. "Smaller versions of this happen every day in the world," Young said. "But it's pretty rare for someone to see something as big as this." The fireball was about 30 kilometres up in the air if people could see it burning as it travelled eastward towards the horizon, he said. Witnicki said that from his car window, the object appeared about the size of a toonie, with a tail a third the length of his windshield. The orangey-red ball appeared for about two to three seconds, travelling from west to east before it fizzled out, he said. If any debris was found, Young said the rock would be smooth with no bubbles or crystals and would probably be very magnetic. "They're very dark rocks and usually very heavy for their size," he said. The Manitoba Planetarium is still looking for more eyewitness accounts about the bolide, Young said, or anyone who thinks they may have found debris in the area where it may have landed. [email protected] _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail: Trusted email with powerful SPAM protection. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/201469227/direct/01/ ______________________________________________ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list [email protected] http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
