News cameraman recording race records fireball in sky

Dantheman62 · 02-16-2009, 03:59 PM

Texas,February 15/09.Preliminary reports by Williamson County officials said a small aircraft went down, but officials now say it's likely just space debris from two satelites crashing.

The Federal Aviation Administration said Sunday that it has received numerous reports across Texas of falling debris, which could be related to a recent U.S.-Russian satellite collision.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=8c6_1234751121

alyscat · 02-16-2009, 05:08 PM

As I'm guessing most of it burned up on reentry, we may never know

alys

Dantheman62 · 02-17-2009, 04:23 PM

FAA says Texas fireball was meteor, not a UFO,

DALLAS – The fireball that streaked across the sky and alarmed numerous Texas residents was likely just a big meteor and not wreckage from colliding satellites, experts said Monday.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Roland Herwig said the fireball seen across a wide stretch of the state Sunday morning probably was a natural phenomenon and not debris from last week's collision between an Iridium communications satellite and a Russian military space vehicle.

And Preston Starr, observatory manager at the University of North Texas, said it probably was a meteor about the size of a pickup truck with the consistency of a chunk of concrete.

The Williamson County sheriff's office in central Texas said it received so many emergency calls about the light in the sky that it sent deputies out in a helicopter to look for a plane crash.

The FAA had said during the weekend that the fireball possibly was caused by falling debris from the satellites. It also posted a weekend warning telling pilots to watch out for satellite debris but rescinded the warning Sunday, Herwig said.

Starr said the object's trajectory was wrong for it to have been satellite debris. And he said such objects would be too small and moving too slowly to produce a flare so widely visible during the day.

"It would have looked like a blip, and nobody would be able to notice if it were a daytime entry," Starr said.

Starr said objects as large as his estimate for the one spotted Sunday enter the atmosphere about eight or 10 times a year. It was probably moving between 15,000 and 40,000 mph, he said.

Despite its initial large size, if any of the object survived the fiery descent through the atmosphere, it would be smaller than a fist, he said.

02-16-2009, 03:59 PM	#1
Dantheman62 Avalon Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: So. Cal. U.S. Posts: 4,205	News cameraman recording race records fireball in sky Texas,February 15/09.Preliminary reports by Williamson County officials said a small aircraft went down, but officials now say it's likely just space debris from two satelites crashing. The Federal Aviation Administration said Sunday that it has received numerous reports across Texas of falling debris, which could be related to a recent U.S.-Russian satellite collision. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=8c6_1234751121

02-16-2009, 05:08 PM	#2
alyscat Avalon Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Washington state Posts: 743	Re: News cameraman recording race records fireball in sky As I'm guessing most of it burned up on reentry, we may never know alys

02-17-2009, 04:23 PM	#3
Dantheman62 Avalon Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: So. Cal. U.S. Posts: 4,205	Re: News cameraman recording race records fireball in sky FAA says Texas fireball was meteor, not a UFO, DALLAS – The fireball that streaked across the sky and alarmed numerous Texas residents was likely just a big meteor and not wreckage from colliding satellites, experts said Monday. Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Roland Herwig said the fireball seen across a wide stretch of the state Sunday morning probably was a natural phenomenon and not debris from last week's collision between an Iridium communications satellite and a Russian military space vehicle. And Preston Starr, observatory manager at the University of North Texas, said it probably was a meteor about the size of a pickup truck with the consistency of a chunk of concrete. The Williamson County sheriff's office in central Texas said it received so many emergency calls about the light in the sky that it sent deputies out in a helicopter to look for a plane crash. The FAA had said during the weekend that the fireball possibly was caused by falling debris from the satellites. It also posted a weekend warning telling pilots to watch out for satellite debris but rescinded the warning Sunday, Herwig said. Starr said the object's trajectory was wrong for it to have been satellite debris. And he said such objects would be too small and moving too slowly to produce a flare so widely visible during the day. "It would have looked like a blip, and nobody would be able to notice if it were a daytime entry," Starr said. Starr said objects as large as his estimate for the one spotted Sunday enter the atmosphere about eight or 10 times a year. It was probably moving between 15,000 and 40,000 mph, he said. Despite its initial large size, if any of the object survived the fiery descent through the atmosphere, it would be smaller than a fist, he said.