Fire in the Sky
A mysterious, explosion-like boom last Thursday evening that rattled this quiet town northwest of Toronto has yet to be explained.
Whatever it was, it was visible for at least 35 miles and prompted a police notification to McGuire Air Force Base.
Bob Hampton of Ocean Township said he was driving on the New Jersey Turnpike near Kearny when he saw the blue-white object streak across the sky traveling from east to west. He spotted it about the same time some Howell residents thought it settled in the woods near Fort Plains Road.
It was white when Dan spotted it. By the time Beth looked up, it had turned stoplight green. The flame died out a few seconds later.
"It wasn't far off in the sky - it was there," the Warrington woman said. "It was the coolest thing we've ever seen."
Most reports of witnessing the fireball came from within Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Even "fire crews in Barstow and on I-15 near Stateline reported seeing an object in the sky moving very fast across the northern sky and described it as yellowish green in color with streaks of debris. It looked like it burned up before it hit the ground," according to an LA Times report.
Residents throughout the region: in Punta Arenas, Puerto Natales and in Tierra del Fuego Porvenir recall seeing at approximately 10:30 p.m. a bright flash in the night sky. Witnesses then heard a loud crack, presumably the result of the meteorite breaking the sound barrier as it passed over the region, reported the local press.
The head of the Punta Arenas Airport, Jan Carlo Onetto, confirmed that the unidentified flying object was not of human origin.
The blasts were heard in Rawalpindi and the capital, Islamabad, two cities about 7 miles (12 kilometers) apart. Rawalpindi houses the headquarters of
Pakistan's army and the residence of President Pervez Musharraf, a key U.S. ally in the war on terror.
Christchurch police received reports from Hokitika to Nelson of a light in the sky between 11pm and midnight, and Wanganui police received three calls of a bright light out at sea.
Wanganui police initially thought it was a flare but then reports came in from farther afield.
There were no reports of anything hitting the ground and a meteor is suspected.
The large bright ball and flaming tail were visible around 8 PM and were seen by thousands of Israelis from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv. As soon as the meteor had disappeared, burned up in earth's atmosphere, calls to the police began pouring in.
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©Daniel Shabodia |
The meteorite, as seen above Machmoret, Israel |
Between 8:25 - 8:30 pm tonight, in the town of Larnaca (Southern coast of Cyprus) I was walking by the beach when I saw in the sky something like a ball of fire moving slower than a usual falling star, followed by a bright pink/red tail. Other people on the beach saw it as well and kept talking and wondering about it.
Comment: It appears that this is the same meteorite that was seen crossing Israeli sky at 08:15 pm.