[meteorite-list] New Meteorite hits North West U.S.

[LITIG8NSHARK at aol.com]

Breaking news---
 
Best regards,
 
Paul Martyn
Savannah, GA
 
SPOKANE, Wash. —  An apparent meteor streaked through the sky over the  
Pacific Northwest early Tuesday, drawing reports of bright lights and sonic  booms 
in parts of Washington, Oregon and Idaho.
Although a witness reported  seeing the object strike the Earth in a remote 
part of Adams County, in  southeast Washington, it had not been found.

"I'm convinced it was a meteor," said Geoff Chester, spokesman for the  U.S. 
Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. "It was a classic description of a  
fireball."

Chester speculated the meteor was the size of a big suitcase  and had been 
orbiting the sun for millions of years before entering Earth's  orbit.

The Federal Aviation Administration said a private pilot reported  seeing the 
meteor hit the Earth in a burst of light near State Route 26 and the  
Lind-Hatton Road about 5:45 a.m.

The Adams County sheriff's office had no immediate reports of damage,  injury 
or a meteor landing in the area, about 175 miles east-southeast of  Seattle 
and 90 miles southwest of Spokane.

Chester said people commonly  think they see a meteor hit or about to hit the 
ground, when it is nowhere  close. Most meteorites that strike the Earth are 
never found, he said
"When  you see objects like this in the sky your sense of scale is 
distorted," he said.  "It's a common optical illusion."

A number of pilots reported seeing the meteor streaking through the sky  from 
Boise, Idaho, into Washington state, the FAA said.
Surveillance cameras  in the region captured a ball of light in the sky and 
then a flash illuminating  the early morning darkness.
Television stations in Spokane reported getting  viewer calls from across 
Washington state and north Idaho, parts of Oregon and  southeastern British 
Columbia, starting about 5:30 a.m.

The callers said it resembled summer lightning, a rocket, a satellite  or an 
exploding transformer.
A viewer from Walla Walla, about 55 miles  south-southeast of the reported 
crash site, said she heard a sonic boom and felt  a shock wave not long after 
seeing the streaking meteor.

The East Oregonian of Pendleton, Ore., said people in that city  reported 
hearing a sonic boom after seeing the sky light up.
 



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