[meteorite-list] re: Satellite Reentry Witness 4

[GeoZay at aol.com]

>>Kevin wrote:
> The thing I saw, was comparable to an  aircraft at a distance. But did not 
> traverse the entire sky, it was  perhaps only 10-20 degrees parallel to the 
> horizon, it didn't move  or cover much more than the general direction of 
> looking to the  North.<<

Marco>>Now, indeed with a 20 second duration  this DOES sound like a 
satellite decay for 
a change.  :-)<<
I personally have never heard of anyone reporting a re entering satellite  
that lasted only 20 seconds. But I have heard of meteors lasting well over 20  
seconds before extinguishment (such as the 1972 Grand Teton around 101  seconds 
and the Peekskill Fireball lasting 40 seconds).  Low on the  horizon, a 
meteor can appear slower than at the zenith due to the further  distance involved. 
It can also appear even slower if the meteor was traveling  in a direction 
that was slightly heading either toward or away from an  observer rather than 
from a true left to right (or right to left :O)). If this  was a satellite that 
lasted only 20 seconds before burning up...it will be the  first for me to hear 
of such a case. Until the short 20 second life span can  be explained, my 
money is still on a meteor. I wonder what month this  occurred?
George Zay



 
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