[meteorite-list] re: Mystery Surrounds Green Meteor in Australia

[Ron Baalke]

> 
> 
> I don't understand why space junk, rather than a meteoric fireball, is almost 
> always being picked out as the most likely explanation by these observatory 
> spokesmen whenever a bright fireball has been sighted. The point is that space 
> junk decays are relatively rare compared to meteoric fireballs - so they are 
> picking the least likely option.

It is more common than you think.  For example, in the past month, 9 pieces
of space junk have reentered into Earth's atmosphere.
 
> Moreover, these commenters do not seem to be aware that you can actually *check* 
> whether something is a space junk decay or not. That stuff is being tracked! 
> Virtually everything larger than a football in Low Earth Orbit has been catalogued.

I checked. There was a SL-12 debris reentry scheduled for May 15,  which may be
a possibility for the meteor observed in Australia.

Ron Baalke