An F/A-18 breaking the sound barrier. Sometimes weather conditions can reflect sonic booms back toward shore. In this case the Navy denied exercises in the area.
Gentle lapping waves on the soundside, or pounding surf on the oceanside. The ever-present wind rustling through marsh grass. Insects, frogs, and birds singing their vari-BOOOOOOM!
Wednesday was another one of those mornings where everyone, from the fifth generation native to the visitor who just pulled into a rental cottage for the first time, immediately yells, "What the heck was that!?"
At least three separate almost ear-shattering booms were heard from Corolla to Manteo, and on the mainland of Currituck County, between 10:50 a.m. and noon.
But what was it? No one really knows.
The Navy said they don't have any activities going on nearby to produce a sonic boom, although it can't be ruled out as the cause.
"All branches of the military use an area well off the coast over the Atlantic, where jets are allowed to operate at supersonic speed," said Navy spokesman Mike Moss. He estimated the area is about 100 miles east of the Outer Banks.
"Sometimes, weather conditions can reflect the noise of sonic booms back towards shore," Moss said.
Naval exercises being conducted offshore was the explanation given when another loud boom was heard and felt up and down the beaches on the evening of July 22.
But Moss said there was really no way of knowing if that was the cause of what was heard Wednesday.
The Navy and Air Force jointly operate a bombing range on the Dare County mainland, but live explosives are not used and planes are not allowed to break the sound barrier when they fly in the vicinity, Moss added.
Seismic testing of the continental shelf using air guns underwater is being proposed off the Outer Banks, but that is not slated to begin until this fall, if approval is given.
So what could it have been?
We published a story in 2012 about the number of theories out there entitled "Mysterious coastal booms have legendary roots".
Other than that, we just don't know.
info from Dr Beter birs eye view: [Link]
The third leg of the Russian "space triad" is a fleet of electrogravitic
hovering platforms called "cosmospheres." These could have been developed by
the United States, and in the early 1960's the late General Thomas Power (then
commander of the Strategic Air Command) and others urged that this be done.
But instead, all of America's secret space eggs were put into the basket of the
Project Apollo moon program. Meanwhile the Soviet Union went ahead with
development of these platforms, and in December 1977 their operational
deployment began. For several months they announced their presence in
hair-raising fashion along the U.S. East Coast and elsewhere by creating
mysterious giant air booms. They did this by firing their powerful charged
particle beam weapons into the atmosphere in a de-focused mode, in effect
causing the air itself to explode. The air booms were an attempt at
intimidation of the U.S. Government, but did not accomplish much in that regard.
After a few months, the air booms were halted.
Today Russian cosmospheres routinely patrol high above all kinds of American
strategic targets. They stand guard especially over American ICBM bases, ready
to use their beam weapons to blast the missiles at the moment of launch in the
event of war.The third leg of the Russian "space triad" is a fleet of electrogravitic
hovering platforms called "cosmospheres." These could have been developed by
the United States, and in the early 1960's the late General Thomas Power (then
commander of the Strategic Air Command) and others urged that this be done.
But instead, all of America's secret space eggs were put into the basket of the
Project Apollo moon program. Meanwhile the Soviet Union went ahead with
development of these platforms, and in December 1977 their operational
deployment began. For several months they announced their presence in
hair-raising fashion along the U.S. East Coast and elsewhere by creating
mysterious giant air booms. They did this by firing their powerful charged
particle beam weapons into the atmosphere in a de-focused mode, in effect
causing the air itself to explode. The air booms were an attempt at
intimidation of the U.S. Government, but did not accomplish much in that regard.
After a few months, the air booms were halted.
Today Russian cosmospheres routinely patrol high above all kinds of American
strategic targets. They stand guard especially over American ICBM bases, ready
to use their beam weapons to blast the missiles at the moment of launch in the
event of war.The third leg of the Russian "space triad" is a fleet of electrogravitic
hovering platforms called "cosmospheres." These could have been developed by
the United States, and in the early 1960's the late General Thomas Power (then
commander of the Strategic Air Command) and others urged that this be done.
But instead, all of America's secret space eggs were put into the basket of the
Project Apollo moon program. Meanwhile the Soviet Union went ahead with
development of these platforms, and in December 1977 their operational
deployment began. For several months they announced their presence in
hair-raising fashion along the U.S. East Coast and elsewhere by creating
mysterious giant air booms. They did this by firing their powerful charged
particle beam weapons into the atmosphere in a de-focused mode, in effect
causing the air itself to explode. The air booms were an attempt at
intimidation of the U.S. Government, but did not accomplish much in that regard.
After a few months, the air booms were halted.
Today Russian cosmospheres routinely patrol high above all kinds of American
strategic targets. They stand guard especially over American ICBM bases, ready
to use their beam weapons to blast the missiles at the moment of launch in the
event of war.
links:
info rom Dr Coleman about Russias Cosmosperes: [Link]
info from press when it begun:
[Link]
info from Dr Beter audio letters:
[Link]
Regards
Matej