Green Meteorite Over North East Ohio

kryptonite

I saw that too!!!!!!!!!
I was driving 71 from Columbus toward Mansfield. I saw a huge green meteorite burning, fell from the sky!!! I am so glad somebody saw it too!!!

Seen across southern Ontario, too:

Meteor lit up the night
By DON PEAT, SUN MEDIA

Last Updated: 26th September 2009, 5:15pm

Toronto & GTA


If you saw a bright light in the sky Friday night, you weren't alone.

Thousands of GTA residents saw what astronomers say was likely a meteor streaming through the clear, night sky just after 9 p.m.

Astronomer Randy Attwood, president of the Mississauga branch of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, told the Sun the unexpected show garnered reports from across the GTA.

But in a sad twist, Attwood said his group was having a meeting Friday night and were indoors when the sky lit up.

"You never know that they're coming," he said. "A lot of people who saw it last night thought it was the best they'd seen ever."

Looking like a bright search flare, the object streaked across the sky - most say it went from north to south - and then disappeared within seconds.

Some reported even hearing fireworks-like crackle as the object moved.

Attwood said the meteoroid – which would either be a meteor if it broke apart in the atmosphere or a meteorite if it hit the ground – could have been anywhere from the size of a fist to the size of a microwave.

"When it hits the earth's atmosphere at about 60 km per second friction heats it up and it becomes visible as a meteor," he said.

Now the race is on to find a picture of the meteor.

"Everyone is looking for a picture at this point," Attwood said. "Because you don't know it's coming, the only way you'd have a picture of it was if you happened to be taking a picture of the sky at the time.

"Usually for these things it's the security videos that people have been accessing to get good views of it."
[link to www.torontosun.com]

Meteor spotted over GTA
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Sep 26, 2009 12:27 PM
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Ann Hui
Staff Reporter
Frank Dempsey was driving to his observatory in North Ajax last night when he saw a bright green light illuminate the sky and road in front of him.

"It was far, far brighter than a full moon, and then disintegrated into red chunks and pieces within seconds," he said.

Dempsey, an amateur astronomer, immediately identified the light as a meteor, or fireball. The meteor was spotted just after 9 p.m. by skywatchers across the GTA and Ontario, and lasted just a few seconds.

Astronomer Randy Attwood, president of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada's Mississauga branch, said that Friday night's spectacle was likely a bolide meteor. Bolides are larger, brighter meteors.

"Normally when you see a meteor, there's no time to turn to a friend and say `look at that,' because it doesn't last that long," Attwood said. "A bolide lasts a little longer."

Last night's clear skies helped with visibility, giving witnesses an unobstructed view of the sight.

Meteors are caused by dust or debris that enters the Earth's atmosphere and vaporizes in a burst of light.

If it was green, I bet it was venting methanol on its way down.

Neat stuff!

Or it might have been composed of Boron, but that'd be a tad out of character for a meteorite.