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Meteor size of minivan caused booming fireball over Washington [state]
slashgear.com ^ | Mar 9, 2018 | Brittany A. Roston -

Posted on 03/09/2018 9:12:29 PM PST by BenLurkin

On Wednesday night, many Washington residents were greeted by a loud and unexpected sight: a big fireball that lit up the sky. Witnesses reported hearing a loud, booming sound; others reported shaking as the fireball whizzed through the sky. Officials were both surprised and confused by the sudden appearance, later reaching out to the FAA and other agencies in an effort to figure out what caused it.

...

Witnesses say the fireball was spotted as far north as the Vancouver region and as far south as Portland. According to Johnson Space Center’s Dr. Marc Fries, this was one of the largest bolide meteors to make an appearance in the last two decades. The meteor is estimated to have been about the size a minivan when it entered the atmosphere, burning up so that by the time it hit the ocean, only a brick-sized chunk remained.

(Excerpt) Read more at slashgear.com ...


TOPICS: Astronomy; Science
KEYWORDS: astronomy; booming; catastrophism; fireball; marcfries; meteor; meteors; minivan; portland; science; vancouver; washington
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1 posted on 03/09/2018 9:12:30 PM PST by BenLurkin
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To: BenLurkin

Twas just fireball making an appearance.

2 posted on 03/09/2018 9:41:16 PM PST by Redcitizen
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To: BenLurkin

Elon Musk was unavailable for comment.


3 posted on 03/09/2018 9:46:13 PM PST by OrioleFan (Republicans believe every day is July 4th, Democrats believe every day is April 15th.)
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To: BenLurkin
only a brick-sized chunk remained.

...but a very fast and hot brick-sized chunk was flying through the air when it struck....

4 posted on 03/09/2018 9:49:12 PM PST by Cvengr ( Adversity in life & death is inevitable; Stress is optional through faith in Christ.)
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To: BenLurkin

Yes, typical of Washington officials to be confused by a fireball meteor. After all, they are confused by the free enterprise system, why so many kids in the state are drug addicts and dead, what the governor is a nut, the Seattle mayors are just as crazy and Marxist, Seattle is the drug capital of the state, and many of their politicians are so far to the left that they fall into the Pacific Ocean when they go out for a walk.

Other than that Washington officials, are you confused by lightning too?


5 posted on 03/09/2018 10:10:23 PM PST by MadMax, the Grinning Reaper
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To: BenLurkin

I just checked. My Highlander is still in the driveway.


6 posted on 03/09/2018 10:50:12 PM PST by Dr. Bogus Pachysandra (Don't touch that thing! Don't let anybody touch that thing!I'm a doctor and I won't touch that thing)
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To: BenLurkin

Um, when objects like a meteor , which is most often a chunk of iron are traveling at around, oh..25 to maybe 30,000 miles an hour and they hit the Earths atmosphere they most often start burning. Iron tends to do that. Anyway that heat produces a ‘’fireball’. Man, Listen up you folks out there in Washington State, I’m all for legalizing the weed but sometimes you’ve gotta put the bong down and get back in the game.


7 posted on 03/09/2018 11:06:11 PM PST by jmacusa ("Made it Ma, top of the world!'')
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To: BenLurkin

I saw the one that passed over WA decades ago - quite a sight as I was in a lightless area at the time.


8 posted on 03/10/2018 1:53:22 AM PST by PIF (They came for me and mine ... now it is your turn ...)
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To: BenLurkin

9 posted on 03/10/2018 3:17:42 AM PST by seawolf101 (Member LES DEPLORABLES)
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To: Dr. Bogus Pachysandra

My wife’s Highlander is also accounted for.


10 posted on 03/10/2018 4:41:26 AM PST by trebb (I stopped picking on the mentally ill hypocrites who pose as conservatives...mostly ;-})
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To: BenLurkin

Minivan? Are they sure it wasn’t a Ford Exploder with the Firestorm tires?


11 posted on 03/10/2018 4:52:53 AM PST by USMCPOP (Father of LCpl. Karl Linn, KIA 1/26/2005 Al Haqlaniyah, Iraq)
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To: BenLurkin

“Witnesses say the fireball was spotted as far north as the Vancouver region and as far south as Portland.”

That’s not much distance at all, just the width of the Columbia River. (I know, I know. But they didn’t specify Vancouver, B.C., did they?)


12 posted on 03/10/2018 4:54:58 AM PST by HartleyMBaldwin
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To: HartleyMBaldwin

That was my thought too. Isn’t that just across the bridge?


13 posted on 03/10/2018 4:58:38 AM PST by Lurkina.n.Learnin (Wisdom and education are different things. Don't confuse them.)
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To: Lurkina.n.Learnin

Yes, it is. When I was a kid, the Interstate Bridge had a toll of 25 cents, but they stopped charging it after the bridge was paid off. That would never happen today.


14 posted on 03/10/2018 5:15:57 AM PST by HartleyMBaldwin
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To: BenLurkin

15 posted on 03/10/2018 6:15:00 AM PST by ETL (Obama-Hillary, REAL Russia collusion! Uranium-One Deal, Missile Defense, Nuke deals. See my FR page)
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To: seawolf101

ET was demonstrating that piloting a Spacecraft drunk is a very bad idea ;-)


16 posted on 03/10/2018 6:37:47 AM PST by Fraxinus (My opinion, worth what you paid.)
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To: SunkenCiv

*ping*


17 posted on 03/10/2018 1:51:35 PM PST by fieldmarshaldj ("It's Slappin' Time !")
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To: fieldmarshaldj; 75thOVI; Abathar; agrace; aimhigh; Alice in Wonderland; AndrewC; aragorn; ...
Thanks fieldmarshaldj.



18 posted on 03/10/2018 10:33:46 PM PST by SunkenCiv (www.tapatalk.com/groups/godsgravesglyphs/, forum.darwincentral.org, www.gopbriefingroom.com)
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To: Cvengr; BenLurkin; SunkenCiv; All

Could this have been an outlier to the much larger asteroid that passed by the earth a few days ago?


19 posted on 03/11/2018 3:43:51 PM PDT by gleeaikin
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To: gleeaikin

Good question.


20 posted on 03/11/2018 4:54:12 PM PDT by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
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