Re: [meteorite-list] Your top meteor sightings!
Hello List, My TOP meteor sighting has to be Jan. 11th 1998 just after midnight. My wife and I were on our way home from a friends birthday party in Lakewood, Colorado. We were on the Colfax viaduct where it crosses the Platt River, Interstate 25, and many rail lines when the sky to the south lit up like it was daytime. We looked and saw a incredible meteor moving at a low angle from west to east over Pikes Peak. The meteor lasted a few seconds and the sky went dark. I was part of a search team organized by the Denver Museum and later have spent several days looking for the meteorites it may have produced. I think it was about two years later when a young boy found a beautiful black crusted meteorite in the projected strewnfield. It has been classified as a L6 chondrite. Then just a couple of years ago Matt Morgan and Gary Curtiss were able to purchase that stone. Thanks to them I was able to purchase a full slice and I now am able to look over at my display case and see that meteor any time I want. It is so special, I feel incredibly lucky to have a piece of the Elbert Meteorite! I have often wondered how many others on the list have seen a meteor and then were able to obtain a piece of the meteorite that produced it? Best Regards, Fred Olsen, Denver __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] Your top meteor sightings!
My Bad, Elbert is an LL6. I think it was the 4th of 5 wittnessed falls in Colorado. -- Original message -- From: debf...@att.net Hello List, My TOP meteor sighting has to be Jan. 11th 1998 just after midnight. My wife and I were on our way home from a friends birthday party in Lakewood, Colorado. We were on the Colfax viaduct where it crosses the Platt River, Interstate 25, and many rail lines when the sky to the south lit up like it was daytime. We looked and saw a incredible meteor moving at a low angle from west to east over Pikes Peak. The meteor lasted a few seconds and the sky went dark. I was part of a search team organized by the Denver Museum and later have spent several days looking for the meteorites it may have produced. I think it was about two years later when a young boy found a beautiful black crusted meteorite in the projected strewnfield. It has been classified as a L6 chondrite. Then just a couple of years ago Matt Morgan and Gary Curtiss were able to purchase that stone. Thanks to them I was able to purchase a full slice and I now am able to look over at my display case and see that meteor any time I want. It is so special, I feel incredibly lucky to have a piece of the Elbert Meteorite! I have often wondered how many others on the list have seen a meteor and then were able to obtain a piece of the meteorite that produced it? Best Regards, Fred Olsen, Denver __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] Your top meteor sightings!
Fred...how fast did it seem to go during those 2 seconds? As fast as a satellite, plane, or a little faster? Zip across the skies or a little slower etc? About as fast as the Geminids? Taurids? The time of the night of its appearance kinda bothers me some. Any sonics reported from this meteor? GeoZay __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] Your top meteor sightings!
This was a slow fireball- several seconds long, observed by hundreds of witnesses. It was also caught on video, as a reflection on a car from a security camera. I've still got the original witness reports as well as the big maps where the data was plotted. Although the original search failed to find anything, the subsequent finds (three separate pieces) match up very well with the estimated strewn field from that original analysis. There were reports of both electrophonic noise as well as sonic booms. This was the last big fireball before we got our camera network running. All the big events since then have been caught on at least one allsky camera. Chris * Chris L Peterson Cloudbait Observatory http://www.cloudbait.com - Original Message - From: geo...@aol.com To: meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com Sent: Sunday, February 21, 2010 4:44 PM Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Your top meteor sightings! Fred...how fast did it seem to go during those 2 seconds? As fast as a satellite, plane, or a little faster? Zip across the skies or a little slower etc? About as fast as the Geminids? Taurids? The time of the night of its appearance kinda bothers me some. Any sonics reported from this meteor? GeoZay __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] Your top meteor sightings!
This was a slow fireball- several seconds long, observed by hundreds of witnesses. It was also caught on video, as a reflection on a car from a security camera. I've still got the original witness reports as well as the big maps where the data was plotted. Although the original search failed to find anything, the subsequent finds (three separate pieces) match up very well with the estimated strewn field from that original analysis. There were reports of both electrophonic noise as well as sonic booms. That all sounds good...:O) GeoZay __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] Your top meteor sightings!
Hi list, I have never been lucky enough to see a bolide, or fire-ball. But I have in my life seen 3 that were bright green, 2 That made a loud hissing or swishing noise. But this past november, I seen a very Bright white one start directly over head and head south east, as the bright light burnt out, for a few tenths of a second, the object just glowed bright red, went dim, and glowed about half as bright again, no tail. I would think this object made it through the lowest levels of the atmosphere. Anyone ever had an encounter like that! Thanks Dave __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] Your top meteor sightings!
I saw a really nice one on the way to the recent MAG meeting. I first thought it was for 10 seconds, but more close to the time for me to tell my wife oh my god, look at that one! then it went out. I tried to find out more about it, but had no luck. That was the biggest and brightest one I think I have ever seen. Kinda nice early in the morning on the way to a meteorite meeting. Greg Catterton www.wanderingstarmeteorites.com IMCA member 4682 On Ebay: http://stores.shop.ebay.com/wanderingstarmeteorites --- On Sat, 2/20/10, Dave Myers whitefalcons...@yahoo.com wrote: From: Dave Myers whitefalcons...@yahoo.com Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Your top meteor sightings! To: Jeff Grossman jgross...@usgs.gov, Galactic Stone Ironworks meteoritem...@gmail.com Cc: Meteorite-list meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com Date: Saturday, February 20, 2010, 3:33 PM Hi list, I have never been lucky enough to see a bolide, or fire-ball. But I have in my life seen 3 that were bright green, 2 That made a loud hissing or swishing noise. But this past november, I seen a very Bright white one start directly over head and head south east, as the bright light burnt out, for a few tenths of a second, the object just glowed bright red, went dim, and glowed about half as bright again, no tail. I would think this object made it through the lowest levels of the atmosphere. Anyone ever had an encounter like that! Thanks Dave __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] Your top meteor sightings!
Hi Dave, This is the best one I've ever seen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwWc_eCkSyw The smoke was quite colorful and lasted a long time. I saw it as it flew across western Montana on its way to its closest earth approach over Canada. Best, Martin On Sat, Feb 20, 2010 at 1:33 PM, Dave Myers whitefalcons...@yahoo.com wrote: Hi list, I have never been lucky enough to see a bolide, or fire-ball. But I have in my life seen 3 that were bright green, 2 That made a loud hissing or swishing noise. But this past november, I seen a very Bright white one start directly over head and head south east, as the bright light burnt out, for a few tenths of a second, the object just glowed bright red, went dim, and glowed about half as bright again, no tail. I would think this object made it through the lowest levels of the atmosphere. Anyone ever had an encounter like that! Thanks Dave __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] Your top meteor sightings!
I hesitate to relate my story as I do not have all the facts in place...In fact I have been saying to myself that I should do just that but time has gone on way to long without action...your topic is the perfect place to start 1993 I believethe date I do not recall..but can be determined..I was the Chief of Police of a NE Pennsylvania Police Dept..at approx. 0400 hrs. I was talking to a Police officer from the next jurisdiction.when a large object was observed by both of ustravelling west to eastalmost directly above us...in fact it made us duck slightly when seen.This huge piece of rock was the lenght of my index finger with arm extended...It was not on 'Fire but totaly visible with surface features casting shadows upon itself from the full moon..the speed of the object was very slow.the full moon cast shadows off of the high peaks onto it's surface and the tips of the high areas took turns dropping.redwhite..blue.yellow sparklers! If you know what a sparkler looks like while it burnssome of the sparks go fast and some slow.well that's what these object diddropped slow sparklers off the high peaks.. The rock was shaped like a heavy topped kidney bean.the surface had definate contours with high peaks and the middle of the object had a very jagged looking area.reminding me of jagged teeth...Two long thin electric lime trails extended from the top and bottom of the object and stayed in place as the object slowly moved east. The first thing that alerted us to the object was a loud roaring sound.. that...funny at the time sounded like the engine from a star trek ship.steady .high pitched whistles went with the sparkler effect with the sound of a string of firecrackers going offnumerous Booms etc. I will say this about the experience..Having served my Country during Vietnam as a Special Forces soldier and in Law enforcement situations. I have never been in a situation that I did not feel in control of until this...It looked like a computer generated object complete with sparklers and sound...I thought if this things explodes Philadelphia to New York would be effected...I had nothing to do but watch...I counted off 25 sec. untill the object disappered. The next day I heard that people from Virginia to New England reported seeing a object ...two days later I had ufo investigators looking for info...I told them like I am telling youIt was a huge Rock and a once in a lifetime event. Oh!...the police officer that witnessed this with me refused to discuss the event with anyone to the point of almost denial..he has since retired and I am going to make contact ...and get his side..because he left quite quickly that nite and never spoke about it againit's time we talked. Michael Mikowski - Original Message - From: Greg Catterton star_wars_collec...@yahoo.com To: Dave Myers whitefalcons...@yahoo.com Cc: meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com Sent: Saturday, February 20, 2010 3:52 PM Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Your top meteor sightings! I saw a really nice one on the way to the recent MAG meeting. I first thought it was for 10 seconds, but more close to the time for me to tell my wife oh my god, look at that one! then it went out. I tried to find out more about it, but had no luck. That was the biggest and brightest one I think I have ever seen. Kinda nice early in the morning on the way to a meteorite meeting. Greg Catterton www.wanderingstarmeteorites.com IMCA member 4682 On Ebay: http://stores.shop.ebay.com/wanderingstarmeteorites --- On Sat, 2/20/10, Dave Myers whitefalcons...@yahoo.com wrote: From: Dave Myers whitefalcons...@yahoo.com Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Your top meteor sightings! To: Jeff Grossman jgross...@usgs.gov, Galactic Stone Ironworks meteoritem...@gmail.com Cc: Meteorite-list meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com Date: Saturday, February 20, 2010, 3:33 PM Hi list, I have never been lucky enough to see a bolide, or fire-ball. But I have in my life seen 3 that were bright green, 2 That made a loud hissing or swishing noise. But this past november, I seen a very Bright white one start directly over head and head south east, as the bright light burnt out, for a few tenths of a second, the object just glowed bright red, went dim, and glowed about half as bright again, no tail. I would think this object made it through the lowest levels of the atmosphere. Anyone ever had an encounter like that! Thanks Dave __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list __ Visit
Re: [meteorite-list] Your top meteor sightings!
Aloha meteor watchers, My most memorable meteor sighting was on November 21, 2001, during the peak of the Leonids shower on the summit of Mauna Kea on Hawaii Island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Hawaii was in the perfect location to view the peak (of the 2001 shower and 33 year cycle), and I happened to be working at the 8.3m Subaru Telescope, operating the SuprimeCam wide field imager on the prime focus of the telescope. Night lunch is at 11:30 pm, and I took my break outside to get a glimpse of the meteor shower. I faced the eastern sky and observed as Leo slowly rose above the horizon. Several meteors were already appearing, with occasional earth-grazers traversing almost 180 degrees across the sky. One I recall would appear as a bright greenish-blue streak that pierced the dark night sky, fading out before reappearing again this time as an orange-yellow meteor. This was probably an earth-grazer that skipped across and through the earth's atmosphere not unlike a stone across a pond or lake's surface. But that was not the most memorable meteor of the night. At 12:09 am, there was a super bright bolide that appeared and got brighter and brighter in intensity, seemingly without moving at all in the sky. It was apparently traveling toward me, and its light cast shadows from the support building and railings that danced all around me. At its brightest, I would estimate that it was -13 v magnitude, or about equal to that of the full moon. While all this occurred I thought I could hear a buzzing sound associated with the meteor. Its intensity seemed to match that of the bolide I was watching. After what seemed like an eternity (but was probably only a few seconds at the most), the meteor spiked in brightness before extinguishing to darkness. Wow! I had to pinch myself to be sure I had not imagined that experience. In retrospect I know that any sound emanating from a meteor could not coincide with the vision of it, because of the difference in speed of light and sound waves. But I know what I heard and and experienced and later learned of electrophonic sound phenomenon, which could explain what I had experienced. A most unforgettable meteor sighting! Gary Fujihara Big Kahuna Meteorites (IMCA#1693) 105 Puhili Place, Hilo, Hawai'i 96720 http://bigkahuna-meteorites.com/ http://shop.ebay.com/fujmon/m.html (808) 640-9161 __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] Your top meteor sightings!
Hi Gary, Great stories. Being an amateur astronomer, you know that if you spend enough time looking up, you will see things that many people don't ever see or rarely see. I used to think shooting stars and bolides were rare until I picked up telescopes and big binoculars for the first time. One night, while sitting out under NELM 5 skies (not exactly dark, but not terrible either), I had a 25x100mm binocular mounted a paralellogram. I kicked back in a chair and did sweeps of the sky from zenith to horizon. This was standard operating procedure for me. I would take a cooler full of iced coffees outside with me, a cigar, and the ST Pocket Sky Atlas. I'd pick a couple of areas, like Orion or Cygnus (depending on the season) and just concentrate on finding DSO's in that region. I stay out for about 6 hours and then finish the night with the cigar before packing it in. Well anyhoot, that particular night I was out to observe and there was no meteor shower or other activity on the schedule. I saw a total of 7 sporadic meteors that night, many of which came from different radiants. Some were bright and some were faint. Most were quick streaks of white or whitish light that would last only 1-2 seconds and then suddenly vanish like a switch turned them off. One I saw while looking through the eyepieces of 100mm binocular and it lasted several seconds. I looked away from the eyepieces and tried to spot the meteor with my naked eye, but it was too faint. I quickly returned to the binocular just in time to see it suddenly wink out. Well, despite having dew shields, it was very humid that night and the big 4-inch objectives of the binocular dewed up on me. So it was time to go in. I lit my cigar and kicked back in the chair, ticking off the DSO's I had spotted that night in my observing log using a dim red flashlight. I looked up and saw a BIG BRIGHT BOLIDE that was bright yellow, it travelled from west to east across Ursa Major and it left behind a bright trail of sparks which were yellow and white. The bolide lasted about 4-5 seconds before it brightened to about Magnitude 1 before it winked out (apparently an airburst or explosion), leaving behind a trail of sparks that lingered for a second longer before it was utterly gone. I didn't hear any sounds associated with it. Gary, that big bright one you saw that had electrophonic effects, it's quite possible that bolide dropped meteorites. Did it go out over the ocean? If so, I wonder if it would be possible to plot something like that and drop a big magnet behind a trawler and locate it. (assuming the water is not too deep - which it probably is) Best regards and clear skies, MikeG On 2/20/10, Gary Fujihara fuj...@mac.com wrote: Aloha meteor watchers, My most memorable meteor sighting was on November 21, 2001, during the peak of the Leonids shower on the summit of Mauna Kea on Hawaii Island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Hawaii was in the perfect location to view the peak (of the 2001 shower and 33 year cycle), and I happened to be working at the 8.3m Subaru Telescope, operating the SuprimeCam wide field imager on the prime focus of the telescope. Night lunch is at 11:30 pm, and I took my break outside to get a glimpse of the meteor shower. I faced the eastern sky and observed as Leo slowly rose above the horizon. Several meteors were already appearing, with occasional earth-grazers traversing almost 180 degrees across the sky. One I recall would appear as a bright greenish-blue streak that pierced the dark night sky, fading out before reappearing again this time as an orange-yellow meteor. This was probably an earth-grazer that skipped across and through the earth's atmosphere not unlike a stone across a pond or lake's surface. But that was not the most memorable meteor of the night. At 12:09 am, there was a super bright bolide that appeared and got brighter and brighter in intensity, seemingly without moving at all in the sky. It was apparently traveling toward me, and its light cast shadows from the support building and railings that danced all around me. At its brightest, I would estimate that it was -13 v magnitude, or about equal to that of the full moon. While all this occurred I thought I could hear a buzzing sound associated with the meteor. Its intensity seemed to match that of the bolide I was watching. After what seemed like an eternity (but was probably only a few seconds at the most), the meteor spiked in brightness before extinguishing to darkness. Wow! I had to pinch myself to be sure I had not imagined that experience. In retrospect I know that any sound emanating from a meteor could not coincide with the vision of it, because of the difference in speed of light and sound waves. But I know what I heard and and experienced and later learned of electrophonic sound phenomenon, which could explain what I had experienced. A most unforgettable meteor sighting! Gary
Re: [meteorite-list] Your top meteor sightings!
Hi Martin and list, Seeing something like that is my dream before I Die, That is Awesome! Great video! I just hope, I don't see one like that while driving! LOL, I know, I will (crash),...I would never keep my eyes on the road! But the top 5,( meteors) I did see and here, Well, I will take with me through the cosmic dust, and tell all about it on the other side! (LOL), I wish you all the best visual effects, that this universe can display in all our life time, and hope it is soon, so you can tell now, rather then later! Take care all, and great posts, so keep them coming! Dave Myers --- On Sat, 2/20/10, Dark Matter freequa...@gmail.com wrote: From: Dark Matter freequa...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Your top meteor sightings! To: Dave Myers whitefalcons...@yahoo.com Cc: Meteorite-list meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com Date: Saturday, February 20, 2010, 10:18 PM Hi Dave, This is the best one I've ever seen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwWc_eCkSyw The smoke was quite colorful and lasted a long time. I saw it as it flew across western Montana on its way to its closest earth approach over Canada. Best, Martin On Sat, Feb 20, 2010 at 1:33 PM, Dave Myers whitefalcons...@yahoo.com wrote: Hi list, I have never been lucky enough to see a bolide, or fire-ball. But I have in my life seen 3 that were bright green, 2 That made a loud hissing or swishing noise. But this past november, I seen a very Bright white one start directly over head and head south east, as the bright light burnt out, for a few tenths of a second, the object just glowed bright red, went dim, and glowed about half as bright again, no tail. I would think this object made it through the lowest levels of the atmosphere. Anyone ever had an encounter like that! Thanks Dave __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] Your top meteor sightings!
The best I ever saw was a huge Earth grazer about 17 years ago. A massive fireball travelled from almost the western horizon and dissapeared over the eastern. It seemed like it must have taken 30-60 seconds to do it. Imagine the Trenton fireball at night and that's what it was like. I've never seen anything like it since. Cheers, Jeff - Original Message - From: Greg Catterton star_wars_collec...@yahoo.com To: Dave Myers whitefalcons...@yahoo.com Cc: meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com Sent: Sunday, February 21, 2010 7:52 AM Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Your top meteor sightings! I saw a really nice one on the way to the recent MAG meeting. I first thought it was for 10 seconds, but more close to the time for me to tell my wife oh my god, look at that one! then it went out. I tried to find out more about it, but had no luck. That was the biggest and brightest one I think I have ever seen. Kinda nice early in the morning on the way to a meteorite meeting. Greg Catterton www.wanderingstarmeteorites.com IMCA member 4682 On Ebay: http://stores.shop.ebay.com/wanderingstarmeteorites --- On Sat, 2/20/10, Dave Myers whitefalcons...@yahoo.com wrote: From: Dave Myers whitefalcons...@yahoo.com Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Your top meteor sightings! To: Jeff Grossman jgross...@usgs.gov, Galactic Stone Ironworks meteoritem...@gmail.com Cc: Meteorite-list meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com Date: Saturday, February 20, 2010, 3:33 PM Hi list, I have never been lucky enough to see a bolide, or fire-ball. But I have in my life seen 3 that were bright green, 2 That made a loud hissing or swishing noise. But this past november, I seen a very Bright white one start directly over head and head south east, as the bright light burnt out, for a few tenths of a second, the object just glowed bright red, went dim, and glowed about half as bright again, no tail. I would think this object made it through the lowest levels of the atmosphere. Anyone ever had an encounter like that! Thanks Dave __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] Your top meteor sightings!
Hi Gary, Indeed it does sound like you experienced electrophonic sounds. Many years ago Bernd helped me put a meteor sound page together using his famous database of info. It's amazing as when you read through them you start to see a definite pattern in the descriptions. The witness descriptions of many falls are here: http://www.meteorites.com.au/oddsends/sounds.html Cheers, Jeff - Original Message - From: Gary Fujihara fuj...@mac.com To: Shelly shelly1...@msn.com Cc: meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com Sent: Sunday, February 21, 2010 10:57 AM Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Your top meteor sightings! Aloha meteor watchers, My most memorable meteor sighting was on November 21, 2001, during the peak of the Leonids shower on the summit of Mauna Kea on Hawaii Island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Hawaii was in the perfect location to view the peak (of the 2001 shower and 33 year cycle), and I happened to be working at the 8.3m Subaru Telescope, operating the SuprimeCam wide field imager on the prime focus of the telescope. Night lunch is at 11:30 pm, and I took my break outside to get a glimpse of the meteor shower. I faced the eastern sky and observed as Leo slowly rose above the horizon. Several meteors were already appearing, with occasional earth-grazers traversing almost 180 degrees across the sky. One I recall would appear as a bright greenish-blue streak that pierced the dark night sky, fading out before reappearing again this time as an orange-yellow meteor. This was probably an earth-grazer that skipped across and through the earth's atmosphere not unlike a stone across a pond or lake's surface. But that was not the most memorable meteor of the night. At 12:09 am, there was a super bright bolide that appeared and got brighter and brighter in intensity, seemingly without moving at all in the sky. It was apparently traveling toward me, and its light cast shadows from the support building and railings that danced all around me. At its brightest, I would estimate that it was -13 v magnitude, or about equal to that of the full moon. While all this occurred I thought I could hear a buzzing sound associated with the meteor. Its intensity seemed to match that of the bolide I was watching. After what seemed like an eternity (but was probably only a few seconds at the most), the meteor spiked in brightness before extinguishing to darkness. Wow! I had to pinch myself to be sure I had not imagined that experience. In retrospect I know that any sound emanating from a meteor could not coincide with the vision of it, because of the difference in speed of light and sound waves. But I know what I heard and and experienced and later learned of electrophonic sound phenomenon, which could explain what I had experienced. A most unforgettable meteor sighting! Gary Fujihara Big Kahuna Meteorites (IMCA#1693) 105 Puhili Place, Hilo, Hawai'i 96720 http://bigkahuna-meteorites.com/ http://shop.ebay.com/fujmon/m.html (808) 640-9161 __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
