[meteorite-list] Strange Lights Streak Over New Mexico

[Ron Baalke]

http://www.kobtv.com/index.cfm?viewer=storyviewer&id=28089&cat=NMTOPSTORIES

Strange night lights streak over NM

Officials believe Sunday's lights were similar to these meteors visible
from New Mexico in November of 2003

By: Reed Upton
KOBTV.com
Octobor 2, 2006

Witnesses from the Deming area to Albuquerque?s Four Hills reported
seeing something big and bright and green streaking through the night
sky late Sunday.

Phones began lighting up in the Eyewitness News 4 newsroom shortly after
11:30 Sunday evening with calls from people asking exactly what the
object was.

Most people described a bright red streak across the sky followed by an
explosion.  Whatever the object was, it then appeared to break up into
three pieces and produce a shower of green lights.

Officials at the Federal Aviation Administration say they believe the
object was coming from outer space and was probably a meteor.

Authorities from the Luna County Sheriff?s Office thought that the
object was a plane crash but the FAA says there are no missing planes.

Officials who monitor the night?s lights will be checking their data
Monday morning but say that the object sounds a lot like a meteor event
that was visible from New Mexico in November of 2003. 

At that time, authorities said that despite the brightness of the
object, it was probably no bigger than a grain of rice.

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http://www.abqjournal.com/abqnews/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1554&Itemid=2

Is the Sky Falling?
Written by Bruce Daniels 
Albuquerque Journal
02 October 2006

Late-night light show baffles New Mexico residents.

A red streak across the night sky around 11:30 p.m. Sunday appeared to
explode and break up into falling green fragments, and we're all
scratching our heads this morning.

Scientists from Sandia National Laboratories told KOB-TV and KKOB radio
overnight they thought it might have been a meteorite entering the
atmosphere.

A similar sky show happened back in November 2003 and was attributed to
a meteor fragment the size of a grain of rice, KOB-TV reported.

But KOAT-TV is reporting that they're being told by scientists that last
night's lights may have come from a celestial event known as an "iridium
flare <http://www.satobs.org/iridium.html>," reflections off a number of
communications satellites orbiting the Earth. But they're not ruling out
meteorites or falling space debris either, KOAT-TV reports.

Did you see it? Did you get some photos? Send us your pix and/or your
speculation about what those lights may have been.