[meteorite-list] article sent to list from Twink Monrad

[Larry & Twink Monrad]

Tucson Region

   In our Tucson paper this morning:


Streaking fireball a vivid spectacle in daytime sky

By Shelley Shelton
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 08.24.2008

A fireball hurtled across the southern Tucson sky 
in broad daylight Saturday morning, startling and 
inspiring awe in those who saw it.
Chelsey Dever was working a yard sale at her 
grandmother's house on the Northwest Side around 
10:30, she said, when she looked toward the south 
and saw the ball arcing through the sky.
"At first I was like, 'Is that an airplane that's 
on fire?' " she said. Then she realized it 
wasn't. The other two people outside with her at the time didn't see it.
Across town, Catherine O'Sullivan was riding her 
bicycle southbound on Sabino Canyon Road when she 
looked up and saw it, she said.
"It looked like someone put a fiery ball in a 
catapult and launched it," she said.
O'Sullivan said she used to work in a planetarium 
and was guessing the fireball was a "bollide" ­ a big meteorite.
"For one to come this close in the atmosphere and 
be seen during the day, it's just unheard of," she said.
Richard Dougall, equipment loan coordinator for 
the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association, said he 
was thrilled to see the meteor as he drove south on Kolb Road.
"It was a fireball. It was beautiful," he said. 
"I've been in seventh heaven all morning."
He was so entranced, he almost forgot to pay attention to his driving, he said.
When asked how common it is to see such a thing 
in broad daylight, he responded, "Not."
"I've always wanted to see one in daytime," he said.
He's been a member of the astronomy group since 
2001 and has seen quite a few at night, he said.
This one had the bright reddish-orange color of a road flare, he said.
He guessed that it was probably 200 or 300 miles 
to the south, maybe farther, but said it's always hard to tell.
Even though it's unusual to see a meteor or 
meteorite during the day, Dougall said they are pretty common.
"The Earth gets struck constantly by meteorites. Constantly," he said.
Contact reporter Shelley Shelton at 434-4086 or sshelton at azstarnet.com.