Feb 20, 2008 10:55 am US/Central
Meteor Seen Streaking Across West Coast Skies
ADAMS COUNTY, Wash. (CBS) ―
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View of a streaking meteor captured by the Idaho National Guard.
Idaho National Guard
An apparent meteor streaked across the darkened early-morning sky above the western United States, drawing reports of bright lights and sonic booms in parts of Washington, Oregon and Idaho.
Although an aircraft pilot reported seeing the object strike the Earth in a remote part of Adams County, in southeast Washington, it had not been found as of Tuesday afternoon.
"I'm convinced it was a meteor,'' said Geoff Chester, spokesman for the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. ``It was a classic description of a fireball.''
Chester speculated that the meteor was the size of a big suitcase and had been orbiting the sun for millions of years before entering Earth's orbit.
A Horizon Airlines pilot reported seeing the meteorite hit the Earth with a flash and a burst of light in Adams County about 5:45 a.m. PST, said Mike Fergus, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman in Seattle.
Adams County sheriff's office dispatchers said they had no reports of damage or injury or other indications of the meteor landing in the area, about 175 miles southeast of Seattle and 90 miles southwest of Spokane.
Chester said people commonly think they see a meteor hit or about to hit the ground, when it is nowhere close. Most meteorites that do strike the Earth are never found, he said.
"When you see objects like this in the sky your sense of scale is distorted,'' he said. "It's a common optical illusion.''
A number of pilots reported seeing the meteor streaking through the sky from Boise, Idaho, into Washington state, the FAA said.
Surveillance cameras in the region also captured a ball of light in the sky and then a flash illuminating the early morning darkness.
Various witnesses said the streaking meteor resembled summer lighting, a rocket, a satellite or an exploding transformer. An eyewitness from Walla Walla, Wash., about 55 miles southeast of the reported crash site, said she heard a sonic boom and felt a shock wave not long after seeing the streaking meteor.
The East Oregonian newspaper said people in the nearby city of Pendleton, Ore., also had reported hearing a sonic boom after seeing the sky light up.
People from as far east as Montana said they saw the fireball in the sky. The Billings Gazette newspaper quoted observers who described the meteor as bright blue, with flashes of light.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
CBS News Interactive: Eye On Space
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