- - - - - - - Fiery meteor streaks across predawn Monday sky here Published August 17, 2004 They're called bolides--flaming meteors that race across the sky at tremendous speed and explode. They aren't terribly common. Yet, such a meteor caught the attention of many around 1 a.m. Monday as it streaked above the Chicago area, initiating a sonic boom. The bolide was observed by an air traffic controller at O'Hare and by the pilots of incoming aircraft, according to FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory. Ground-based observers called police in Park Ridge, Norridge and Chicago to report the event. Area astronomers suggested the fiery meteor may have been part of the annual Perseids display, which peaked a week ago. But, it may also have been a piece of earthbound space junk or a "sporadic"--a single isolated meteor--added astronomer Dan Joyce, who says bolides can travel at speeds up to 150,000 m.p.h. 50-60 miles above earth, but slow and heat up as they enter the denser lower atmosphere.
Thank you Ian, Skilling is da bomb ;)
You received a visit from a bolide! Cool. Much better and safer than a shooting, explosion, bomb, kids playing with firecrackers...