Could I have Heard a meteorite?+ were they eta equa

[Gem (Grant)]

I have heard only one meteor in my life. I was quite young and out with my older brother and his 4" SCT near Singleton, NSW. The meteor was bright and distinctly broke in two. I don't remember a sparkler noise, but I do remember a thunder noise that came after a delay. I was fairly young at the time but the memory has stuck. A bit scary when you are at a dark site as a kid!!
Incidently, the only recorded person or animal hit by a meteorite was the Nakhla dog in Egypt - vapourising the dog instantly, or so it is said.

[Gem (Grant)]

Correction - I meant killed not hit!

[Outbackmanyep]

The sounds of the meteors aren't figments of the imagination but is something that had been studied by a bloke at Newcastle University invovling low frequency sound waves being made audible from surrounding vegetation.
The sound you are hearing is NOT from the meteor itself as sound travels much slower than light and these things are 100kms or more up, but it can be explained by the radio wave phenomena.
Meteor observers have tried to record the audio effects with not much success, it seems our ears are the best receivers!

Meteor observers use radio all the time to detect meteors we can't even see, they usually tune into a low frequency band from a transmitter hundreds of kms away and record the radio echo from meteors entering the atmosphere.
You can download a sample from Thomas Ashcrafts page here:
http://www.heliotown.com/Table_of_Contents.html
I have heard the audio phenomena too (not the radio echo), but it was a LONG time ago.


Interesting stuff!

[theodog (Jeff)]

Originally Posted by Outbackmanyep

The sounds of the meteors aren't figments of the imagination but is something that had been studied by a bloke at Newcastle University invovling low frequency sound waves being made audible from surrounding vegetation.

Here is some info on this 'bloke'.
http://home.pacific.net.au/~ddcsk1/

I have had the same meteor 'experience' myself. However the associated meteor was seen low near the horizon. As the sound seemed simultanious I figure I didn't hear the meteor.

Interesting that most people describe a bright "orange" colour.

[Outbackmanyep]

Originally Posted by theodog

Here is some info on this 'bloke'.
http://home.pacific.net.au/~ddcsk1/

Hi Theodog!

Yep that's the bloke i was talking about!

[Analog6 (Odille)]

I was once driving home from work when we lived out near Yass and saw a huge green meteor just on dusk. The trail in the sky and smokey stuff were just like you describe. How I wished I'd had a camera with me. There was a story in the paper about the one I saw - it was so big and bright. It's certainly a very special sight.

And I do remember reading a story about someone who had a hole burned in the roof of their house, but for the life of me cannot even remember which country this was supposed to be in. They actually had the meteorite and there was some dispute over ownership.

[bartman (Bart)]

Thanks for the links Outbackman and Jeff!
Nice followup!
Cheers
Bartman