[null and void]

Once, about 20 years ago, my dad, brother & I were out watching a meteor shower in the back yard. We saw a large streak go across the sky, and then explode in a shower of sparks that lit up the sky and ground. To say it was awesome is an understatement. Even though it was probably 10 miles high in the atmosphere, I could have sworn I heard a hissing sound as it went across the sky and then a “pop” as it exploded. But I knew that could not be so; the sound would need many seconds to travel that distance. This seems to provide an explanation.

I heard one 'sizzle' so loudly and clearly that I said as much to the people around me. Followed with "...of course I know that's impossible, but..."

[henkster]

My event sounded like a hiss, you guys described “sizzle” or sound like a propane stove. What I heard would fit those descriptions as well. The explosion was not a boom or bang, but sounded instead like a “pop,” kind of like the sound a bottle rocket makes. With so many accounts of this phenomenon, there must be something to it. The funny thing is, as I recall now, the sensation was as much “felt” as “heard.”

[blam]

"I heard one 'sizzle' so loudly and clearly that I said as much to the people around me. Followed with "...of course I know that's impossible, but..." "

Eskimos claim to be able to hear the Northern Lights...the most sensative instruments measures zero sound/noise though.