Artist rendition of a meter. Source: AP
Many calls to the 911 system in Harford and northern Baltimore Counties, and southern PA began around 1am this morning. A flash of light and an explosion was heard in the sky. MEMA (Maryland's emergency Management Agency), NORAD and The National Weather Service was contacted, and can not confirm what was seen and heard. The best explanation was that a meteor exploded in the sky.
Despite a little fog forming, the sky was clear and the weather was calm. Meteors, the size of dust or pebbles often burn up in the atmosphere, and are more commonly thought of as shooting stars. Ocassionally a larger object can survive the speed, heat and pressure, before burning up in the lower atmosphere. That is what this morning's event sounds like.
There are scheduled showers throughout the year, as Earth passes through dust and debris left from ancient comets or asteroids in the path of our orbit. The next few are not even close, but here is a list of the expected summer meteor showers. A definition of space rocks is below:
July |
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Delta AquaridsJuly 28-29
Frequency: |
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At peak time about 20 bright, yellow meteors can be observed per hour. Because these meteors nearly broadside the Earth, their speed is a moderate 25.5 miles per second.
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CapricornidsJuly 29-30
Frequency: |
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The Capricornids are characterized by their often yellow coloration and their frequent brightness. They are also slow interplanetary interlopers, hitting our atmosphere at around 15 miles per second. Though you can expect only 15 meteors per hour at best under dark sky conditions, the Capricornids are noted for producing brilliant fireballs.
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August |
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PerseidsAugust 12-13
Frequency: |
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This shower produces about 60 meteors per hour, and its performance is fairly consistent from year to year.
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Parent Comet: 109P/Swift-Tuttle
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Asteroids- Any of numerous bodies composed of metal or rock that orbit the sun. The Asteroid Belt is located between Mars and Jupiter.
Meteors- Any small extra terrestrial solid body that hits Earth's atmosphere.
Meteorites- The remains of a meteoroid that remains solid after reaching Earth's surface.
Comments
This sounds like a government cover up to me. Tell us the truth!
My son and nephew were at my mom's house and around 1;10 am were scared out of their wit's because the meteor went right over my mom's house and lit up her home. A moment later the whole ground shook and the dog's went nut's. My mom was scared too but was trying to keep her cool for the boy's sake. My nephew is the only one that saw it and he said it was a huge yellow ball with no tail. My mom is sure it crashed near her home because the way the ground shook and the difference it was from a plane or thunderstorm.
Please post your location and any other information (direction etc.) in your posts!
I was coming home from work in Bethlehem PA and I saw it from my car as well...I thought it was someone shooting off leftover holiday fireworks at first.
i saw it in Washington DC
prison guard hit by pea sized meteorite 9july09 940pm wilkes barre,pa. caught in baseball cap. 2 burn marks and diamond grain makeup with 24x mag. could be related to the baltimore meteorite explosion on 6july09 acesand@live.com
I live in Parkville, MD, nestled between Towsend and Baltimore City, and I was out for a late-night long boarding session. When I saw it, I nearly crashed into a wall, it was just so beautiful, like nothing Id ever seen. I knew it wasnt a firework, it just looked different. I ran into the corner store near my house, and told them, and they all said I was insane, haha. Im so glad to find this article, I was starting to belive them....
i am the prison guard hit by the pea sized rock meteorite on 9july09 940pm wilkes-barre,pa 18702 and i am having the rock piece tested at the pa dept of geology in middleton,pa. it takes 2 years for the imca to approve and give it a name. alex j rynkiewicz
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