'A huge flash': Meteorite hunters seek fiery ball that fell over B.C.

Science | 213274 hits | Sep 06 5:27 pm | Posted by: Hyack

The hunt is on for the remains of a meteorite after reports of a streaking fireball lighting up the night sky over B.C. and Alberta.

Comments

by Hyack
Thu Sep 07, 2017 12:50 am
Good luck to those trying to find pieces of this meteorite. The area north of Kootenay lake is about as rough as any terrain you might find in the middle of the Rockies. Meadow creek on "Highway" 31 is a community in name only, while the "highway" is nothing more than a rough one and a half lane gravel road. The largest community within a 50 mile radius is Invermere. It is located about 45 miles to the northeast of Meadow Creek. Invermere has a population of 3,000 people. The next largest community is Nakusp. It is located about 36 miles to the west of Meadow Creek and has a population of 1,500 people. Needless to say, this is smack dab in the middle of nowhere!!
by Thanos
Thu Sep 07, 2017 1:02 am
The way things are going this tinder-dry year for BC forests they should concentrate the search at the center of any new forest fire that started in the area since the thing impacted.
by Hyack
Thu Sep 07, 2017 1:19 am
"Thanos" said
The way things are going this tinder-dry year for BC forests they should concentrate the search at the center of any new forest fire that started in the area since the thing impacted.

Probably not, most meteorites which happen to make it through the atmosphere intact/pieces are not glowing balls of fiery material, while they may be hot to the touch they aren't hot enough to cause combustion, even in the hot, dry conditions we are experiencing right now in the forests.
by Thanos
Thu Sep 07, 2017 1:27 am
Guess it depends on how hot any fragment was. If they ban ATV or dirtbike off-road use because of the worry that a hot exhaust could ignite a fire then a meteor chunk that roughly at the same temperature might conceivably start one too.
by Hyack
Thu Sep 07, 2017 3:04 am
Are meteorites hot or cold when they hit Earth?

Many astronomers believe that small rocks hitting the ground should not be hot. In a Science@NASA article about the recent fireball over Pennsylvania, written by Tony Phillips, the planetary scientist Don Yeomans is quoted as saying,"Rocky asteroids are poor conductors of heat. Their central regions remain cool even as the hot outer layers are ablated away... Small rocky meteorites found immediately after landing will not be hot to the touch."

In their meteorite FAQ, the American Meteor Society says "The ablation process, which occurs over the majority of the meteorite's path, is a very efficient heat removal method, and was effectively copied for use during the early manned space flights for re-entry into the atmosphere. During the final free-fall portion of their flight, meteorites undergo very little frictional heating, and probably reach the ground at only slightly above ambient temperature." However, they point out that there really aren't many reports, and those we have are often "prone to hearsay".
by herbie
Thu Sep 07, 2017 3:35 pm
Oh come on we've seen the movies!
They start cement buildings on fire, ignite the forests melt the ground into lava and three headed sharks come out of the inside.
by DrCaleb
Thu Sep 07, 2017 4:08 pm
If you clean out your eavestrough and collect all the little bits, the bits that are magnetic and perfectly round will be meteorites. You'll get around 3 per year, on average.

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