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Green fireball streaks over Northwest
The object amazes observers in Oregon and Washington, but no "land hit" has been reported
Sunday, March 13, 2005
FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
A spectacular fireball streaked across the Northwest sky Saturday. The bright green flash lighted the sky as it fell "like a Roman candle," according to witnesses from Bend to Kent, Wash.
Members of the largest amateur astronomy club in the Northwest, gathered on a ridge on the Warm Springs Reservation for a star party, were stunned by the fireball's appearance, which they recorded at 7:43 p.m. and 7:44 p.m.
"It was very bright fluorescent green with a shell of yellow around it and slight tail," said Robert McGown, a member of the Rose City Astronomers. The object was brighter than the crescent moon, McGown and other astronomers said. The flash appeared in the western sky, and after it dropped below the horizon, sent up at least three bright flashes.
"When it came down, it split and the shock waves made this spectacular show that lasted 1.5 seconds," McGown said. "The only sound was of people screaming. It was so bright and so huge. Usually you hear oohs and ahhs -- this was hysterics."
The Federal Aviation Administration's regional office in Renton, Wash., fielded reports of a fireball from the Tri Cities to Puget Sound. Spokesman Michael O'Connor confirmed that the falling object was not a plane and that there had been no reports of a "land hit."
Dick Pugh, with the Cascadia Meteorite Laboratory in Portland, said the fireball streaked from south to north and east to west. He said it appeared to break up over the Pacific Ocean. He said the fireball could either be a "good-size rock" entering the Earth's atmosphere or a satellite burning up. There was an unconfirmed report that a satellite was scheduled to re-enter Saturday.
Melinda Hutson, another expert at the lab, said meteors large enough to turn into fireballs are uncommon. To get a fireball, it has to be "a big piece of rock or metal -- most are pieces of asteroids," Hutson said. "Once every once in a while, a piece of the moon or Mars breaks off."
Astronomer Jim Todd, planetarium director at the Oregon Museum of Science & Industry, said that if the meteor had entered the atmosphere during the daytime, it may not even have been noticed.
"It creates a bright contrast against the night sky," Todd said.
A sheriff's deputy in Grays Harbor County, Wash., told the FAA he believed it had hit the water there. Others reported seeing the fireball disappear behind the Three Sisters Mountains in Central Oregon.
Kelly Brest was driving from her home in Kent, Wash., to a convenience store to pick up dinner when a streak of bright light ignited in front of her windshield. "It looked like it was right in front of me." She continued to drive, following the path of the fireball as it crossed to the west, finally falling out of view. "It looked like it landed right behind the Ford dealership," she said.
Staff writer Julie Sullivan and correspondent Matthew Preusch of The Oregonian and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
IJM
